Slayer Central
by teeney8040
Summary: Post Chosen...Faith, Buffy, Cleveland...my newest fun with the slayers.
1. Here we stand

Part of me feels sick. Part of me feels kinda numb. Part of me feels sad. Most of me though…most of me feels fucking relieved. We're all just standin' here looking at the hole formerly known as Sunnydale and I don't think any of us can really believe what happened. I think we actually won. I know I can't believe it.

For weeks the First has been on our asses and B and G-man have been making it this larger than life demon that we just can't beat. Well, ladies and gents, I think we've done it.

I hear Red say something to B about what we're gonna do and when she turns around, she just has this smile on her face. I watch as Dawn and Red approach her with X not too far behind and I just stand back, knowing this is sort of a Scooby moment. I head towards the back of the bus to have a smoke, passing Kennedy who's standing watchin' Red with pride in her eyes. She should be proud…damn. Her girl just made a whole hell of a lot of baby slayers. That's something I doubt too many people could pull off.

I only get to take a few drags from my smoke before G is freakin' out to get back on the bus ASAP so we can rush off to the hospital. It's only then that I remember Woody isn't doing too hot. As I'm about to get back on the bus I notice that B's still kinda standing there watchin' the hole like the things she wants most are just gonna come bouncing out of there. They never do and I think she realizes that they probably won't before we gotta jet so she turns around and notices me watching her. She gives me this fuckin' grin that I haven't seen directed at me since before Finch and for some reason I feel my stomach flip flop. I shake it off and grin back. "You ready to hit the road?"

She nods and approaches me slowly. When she's close enough she pulls me into a hug and squeezes me tight enough that it would probably kill me if I wasn't a slayer. I hug her back and I can feel her forgiveness kinda seeping into me as we stand there. "Thanks for coming back, Faith. I couldn't have done it without you." Her words are quiet, but they ring in my ears.

I pull out of the hug, a little uncomfortable with the attention and the praise. I shrug and wave it off, knowin' she's probably just blowing smoke, either that or she's fuckin' with me. "Don't sweat it, B. It's what slayers do."

"Girls, please, I really must insist that we get moving right away. Some of the girls and Robin need immediate care at the hospital," Giles tells us both as he hangs part way out the door of the bus.

Buffy nods and grabs my hand, pulling me into the bus with her. "Sorry, Giles. Let's go."

As we get closer to the hospital, I notice B looking more and more pale. She starts sweating and she kinda looks like shit. I nudge her quietly and give her a look, asking silently if she's okay. I don't want to alert the troops that their leader might not be five by five. She nods, brushing it off. I keep an eye on her and I notice a few minutes later, her head kind of bobs back and she looks really bad.

"We're here!" Giles calls out a moment later.

Red and Dawn start shooin' all the girls off the bus so they can help the girls bleedin' all over the place into the hospital. I know it sounds kinda weird, but it's almost like the hospital was expecting us. It musta been the big Ace to tip 'em off that a busload of injured girls were gonna be showin' up some time today. Leave it to Angel to take care of everything for Buffy.

Once all the baby slayers are off the bus I turn to make sure we don't have any stragglers and that's when I see that B still hasn't gotten up. Actually, I just now notice that she's out fucking cold. In a panic I yell somethin' out and grab her before running into the hospital like a damn nutbag, screaming the whole way tryin' to get someone to take care of her. A minute later, B's bein' wheeled off on a stretcher and I'm left standing with B blood all over me in the middle of the emergency room, probably looking like a fuckin' psycho.

"Faith, what happened?" Dawn asks me a minute later, scarin' the shit outta me from behind.

I shake my head and turn around to go back outside to smoke, I can't deal with all this shit. "She passed out on the bus."

Dawn gasps and runs off in the other direction to find big sis and I head outside. I don't realize just how fuckin' shaken up I am about B until I put my cigarette to my mouth to try to light it and I can't because my hands are shakin' so damn bad.

It's about now that I start seriously considering runnin' and never coming back. I know I could make it to Mexico without getting' caught and the Scoobies have so much goin' on right now that they probably wouldn't even notice I was gone. I can feel myself carin' again, especially about B and the fact that I'm this fuckin' shaken up when she gets hurt lets me know that I'm gettin' way too close.

I think for a second about the smile B gave me a few hours ago and the way it made me feel. I feel like I want to be on the receivin' end of that smile again and again. I feel like I want to be the one to make her smile like that again. B's always kinda done this to me. Dammit. I can be such a damn puss sometimes.

I have all kinds of weird shit goin' through my head when I finally get my cigarette lit. I shake it off as much as I can and try my best to ignore some of the thoughts involvin' Buffy going through my head at the moment. I end up smoking three cigarettes back to back before I wander back into the ER and back to Buffy. I don't even need to ask where she is…the slayer senses lead me back to her every time.

I think that I can honestly say that I hate hospitals more than any other place on the planet. I really hate that all the girls saw me so vulnerable and I especially hate that Faith saw me like that. She never should have had to see that. Dawn has been practically sitting on top of me since she ran in and found me. I think I was only out for a few minutes but apparently that was enough to have her convinced that I was gone again. Slayer healing took over almost immediately once I was out and I was back up in no time. Unfortunately, the doctors don't know about my slayer healing and they've been poking and prodding since I've been in this stupid bed. It's like I'm a science project.

"How ya feelin', B?"

Just her voice is enough to get those damn butterflies in my stomach going again. "I'm okay."

She nods once and smiles at Dawn before flinging herself ungracefully into the chair near the door. She sits and fidgets and taps her foot and I can't help that it just makes me that much more crazy about her. See, that's the thing, I've been in love with Faith since the moment we met. I tried denial…I really did. It didn't work and I couldn't deal with it so I pushed her away and when the thing with Finch went down, I used it as the ultimate excuse to push her away from me and I even hoped it would make her hate me so I wouldn't love her so much.

"Miss Summers, I'm Doctor Kelly. How are you feeling?"

Okay, here's where we convince the silly doctor that I'm actually okay and I don't need to be here any longer. "I feel fine. Can I go now?"

Faith snorts. "The direct approach. Nice, B."

I roll my eyes. "Faith now isn't the time."

"Sorry, baby, I'm stickin' around to see how this one plays out," Faith tells me with a smile and a wink.

My stomach clenches at the word baby, Faith has called me that before and it always had the same effect on me. I always wished Faith would really call me baby one day. "Why is that again?"

The doctor stepped in at this point. "Um, Buffy, I need to take a quick look at the wound you sustained. Your sister should probably go, but your girlfriend can stay if you want her to."

Faith and I lock eyes for a moment and I know that I'm blushing because Faith just smirks at me and stands up. She approaches the bed and kisses my forehead. "Don't worry, babe, we'll wait outside."

Dawn giggles and follows Faith from the room.

I am absolutely mortified that she said that in front of Dawn and I shake my head. "We're not together. She's just a friend."

The doctor just smiles. "Oh, I'm sorry. The way you interact made me think otherwise. I apologize."

Well, we would make a damn good-looking couple, but I can't really discuss this with the doctor so I smile and do my best to convince her that I'm okay.

Buffy finally managed to find Giles, Willow and Kennedy and the three of them looked up as she approached and they all smiled.

"Buffy, glad to see you up and about."

"Thanks, Giles." Buffy smiled at him and turned to hug her best friend. "Will, what can I say? You saved me again."

Willow blushed and Kennedy beamed, sliding a hand around her waist. "She was amazing."

Buffy took a long look at the two of them and realized how happy they both seemed to be together. "Kennedy, you were great in the fight. You take care of my Willow."

The younger slayer smiled appreciatively at Buffy and gave her a nod. "I will. Because if I ever hurt her, you'll kill me, right?"

Buffy nodded. "You may be a slayer, but I could still kick your ass."

A doctor walked out of the room at that moment and he and Giles stepped away for a moment to speak privately. The three girls watched them until Giles came back with a grim look on his face. "I'm afraid Robin didn't make it."

"Does Faith know?" Buffy asked immediately.

Giles shook his head. "I actually haven't seen her since she, ah, carried you in."

Buffy thought for a moment and turned on her heel, heading for the front of the building. She saw Faith sitting outside smoking and she and Dawn were chatting on one of the benches. She approached the two of them and smiled when she heard her sister giggling.

They both looked up when she approached and immediately picked up on Buffy's somber mood.

"Buffy, what's wrong?" Dawn asked her as she stood up to approach her sister.

She met Faith's eyes and sighed heavily. "Robin didn't make it."

Dawn hung her head for a moment before looking at Faith, trying to gauge her reaction. Both Summers women were praying it wouldn't send her off the deep end. Faith simply pulled out a cigarette and lit it, pulling her legs up Indian style while she smoked.

"Dawnie, give us a minute," Buffy asked her quietly.

Dawn nodded and hugged her sister briefly. She turned to leave, but a second later she turned back to Faith and hugged her too before running off to find the others.

"Faith are you okay?"

The brunette slayer shrugged her shoulders. "He was a good guy. Kinda vain and diluted, but he was solid. And he could fight."

"And you kind of had a thing with him," Buffy reminded her.

Faith shrugged. "So? I've kinda had things with lots of people. He wasn't anything special. He just thought he was."

"Are you sure?" Buffy asked.

Faith nodded. "I'm sure."

The slayers sat quietly until Faith pulled another smoke out and Buffy snagged the pack and grabbed one for herself. Faith simply raised an eyebrow, but didn't say a word as she lit both cigarettes with the Zippo she pulled from her pocket.

Buffy took a drag of her cigarette and had to use all her slayer powers not to cough. Faith was watching after all and she wouldn't let Faith laugh at her. "Have you decided what you're doing after this?"

Faith smirked and shook her head at Buffy trying to be a little bit bad. "I'm gonna fight the good fight. I overheard G talkin' on the phone to somebody about maybe going to Cleveland."

Buffy mulled that over a minute and took another drag, blowing the smoke out slowly. "You still want to continue to risk your neck for this?"

Faith smiled. "Think about it, B. We have a ton of slayers now. Think about how much easier the fight's gonna be now."

Buffy snorted, and shook her head. "I wouldn't be so sure of that. If there's anything I've learned from Willow and her physics and magic, it's that you can't have anything without balance. If you increase the good, you'll increase the bad. There always has to be balance."

"All the more reason for you to stick with it, B," Faith told her with a shrug.

Something about Faith's statement, as simple as it was, rocked Buffy for a moment. She thought she'd made her choice, but it was in that moment that she altered her plans. "I think I need a break."

"So take one."

Buffy laughed cynically. "Is it that simple? I've wanted a break for years and the longest one I got was when I was in the ground."

Faith frowned for a second; something about Buffy's statement rubbed her in a weird way. She shook it off and stood up. "Are you just tuning in, B? We have a fuckin' army of slayers now. If you need to go off on a Vegas vacation, go ahead. We can handle it while you're gone."

Buffy grinned a little, they'd watched that movie together and both loved it. "You almost sound like you want me gone."

It was only there for a split second, but the look on Faith's face at that comment made Buffy's heart flutter and the butterflies were back. She felt her cheeks flush and her pulse quicken. She wasn't even sure what it was, but she saw something that gave her hope.

"No. I want you to be happy."

Buffy knew in the bottom of her heart that having Faith as her own would be the only thing that would ever truly make her happy. She knew that would never ever be a possibility so she pushed that thought out and moved the conversation forward. "I won't give up on this fight. But I promised Dawn I'd show her the world and that's a promise I fully intend to keep."

Faith exhaled a puff of smoke and gave her a smile. "B, go do what you need to do. I had a three-year break from this and I can't wait to get back into it even after that fight we just had. You go and take a break and when you get back, we'll all be here." She paused a grinned a bit. "Maybe not right here, but we'll be waitin'."

Buffy gave Faith a huge smile and reached out to snub out her cigarette and then she reached over to hug her. "Thanks, Faith. For everything."

Faith just shrugged and gave her a wink. "No sweat, B."

Giles suddenly emerged from the hospital with Kennedy and Willow following close behind.

"Buffy, Faith, I have a task for all four of you girls if you're both feeling up to it," Giles told them once he was close enough.

The two slayers nodded and Giles smiled a little at how the two of them were left alone and nothing had been destroyed. Maybe they really could get along.

"Kennedy has been in touch with her family and Willow with Angel and between them, we have managed to get our hands on some money."

"Well, Western Union has their hands on our money," Kennedy corrected him with a smirk.

"Now isn't the best time to get technical, Kennedy," Giles told her with an exasperated look. Buffy and Willow could tell he wasn't really that mad, but Kennedy kind of slinked back behind her girlfriend. "Now, as I was saying, I have a task. I would like the four of you to go out shopping." He smiled when he saw Faith's face fall and Buffy's light up. "None of us have any belongings and I would like all of you to go out and buy some new clothes and any other appropriate items we all may need for the next few days. I have been speaking to some of my Council contacts and they want me to rebuild and I fully intend to do so. I hope to be able to access Council accounts in the next few days and once I am able, I will have enough money to assure we have everything we need."

"You're gonna be in charge of the new Council?" Buffy asked him with a hint of pride in her voice.

Giles recognized the tone and blushed, looking away for a moment. "Yes. I plan to go on to Cleveland and rebuild there. The way it was meant to be done the first time"

"Shopping won't be a problem, G-man. We takin' the bus?" Faith asked him, jutting a thumb over her shoulder at the ragged bus still sitting in front of the emergency entrance.

Giles nodded, handing her the keys. "Be careful girls." With that, he hurried back inside.

Willow leaned over and snatched the keys out of Faith's hand and didn't even flinch when the slayer shot her a deadly look. "Faith, you don't scare me anymore. I'm far more powerful than you and I'm pretty sure that spell got rid of all the bad mojo inside. I'm not afraid to go there if I have to now."

Faith took a step back and grinned at the witch. "Damn, Red." She glanced at Kennedy, who was looking slightly turned on. "Remind me not to mess with your girl, Kennedy."

"Don't mess with my girl," Kennedy shot back without ever taking her eyes from Willow.

Buffy's face soured as she moved towards the bus. "Come on, lust bunnies. Let's go now before it gets too late."

Willow smirked. "You know, Faith, I think I finally understand the whole hungry and horny thing you mentioned all those years ago."

Buffy suddenly yelled out and covered her ears. "No! I don't want to hear those things coming out of your mouth, Will. To me, you're still a virgin and innocent and all that."

Kennedy smirked. "Well then, it's a good thing you couldn't hear what was coming out of her mouth last night."

Willow blushed and Faith laughed out loud, shoving Kennedy a little as the girls made their way onto the bus to do some shopping, all of them laughing at Buffy who had her fingers in her ears and was singing loudly.

Willow and Kennedy had gotten approximate sizes for everyone for their clothes before they left the hospital so they knew what to get.

They arrived at the super store a little while later and they got more than a few strange looks as they got out of the bus and headed inside. Mostly due to the fact that Buffy was wearing the top half of a set of scrubs they'd given her at the hospital and Faith still had Buffy's blood down the front of her shirt. They grabbed a few carts and Willow and Kennedy headed off with one half the list and left the older slayers with the other half.

"They are just itching for some alone time," Faith noted with a hint of a smile.

Buffy picked up on the sadness in Faith's voice and mistook it for feeling sad about Robin. "Faith, are you sure you're okay with the whole Robin thing?"

Faith gave her a weird look and then realized where that comment came from. "Yeah. B, it has nothing to do with him."

Buffy thought for a moment. "Well, what is it?"

Faith stopped short and looked at Buffy long and hard for nearly a minute. Their gazes locked as they stood in the isle. "You really want to try to do this again?"

Buffy's heart nearly jumped into her throat. "You mean try to trust each other?" Faith nodded. "I don't think we've ever really tried that."

Faith's mouth turned up in a tiny smile. "True. Are we really going to try it for the first time then?"

Buffy smiled. "Why not?"

The brunette slayer nodded and smiled, turning to throw some work out pants into their cart. "Wood was idiotic enough to think he could domesticate me. He was good-looking and smart and didn't treat me like a criminal. The point is, I was almost willing to try to let him try to kind of settle me down."

Suddenly, all the air went out of the room for Buffy and she had to force herself to breathe. She knew as long as Faith was a 'get some, get gone' girl, she almost stood a chance at getting her to love her back. If Faith settled down with someone, she felt like she would lose her chance forever. She wasn't sure what made her feel that way, but she just had a feeling that whoever got her to settle down first, would have her forever and she at least wanted a chance to be that person.

"You really think he would have been able to settle you down?" Buffy asked softly, dropping her head to look at her hands.

Faith picked up on something in Buffy's voice and she frowned for a second. When she didn't say anything right away, Buffy looked up at her. Suddenly Faith broke into a huge grin. "Hell no. I'm sure there's someone out there that might be able to do it. He sure as hell wasn't the one."

Buffy nearly started crying in relief. She pulled Faith into a hug for the second time that day and when she realized what she was doing she pulled away quickly and started her shopping again. Faith stood in the isle, completely thrown by Buffy's behavior. She wasn't sure what the other slayer was thinking, but then again, she never really understood her blonde counterpart so she followed along, throwing things in the cart as they went. They met up with Willow and Kennedy a little bit later and the two brunettes took the full carts with them to pay for the clothes and left Buffy and Willow with an empty cart to shop for toiletries.

The best friends found the two brunettes a few minutes later playing video games. They apparently thought that hitting each other in real life would be enough of a distraction to win the game and it seemed to be working. They appeared to be on the verge of an all out wrestling match when the other two girls found them and suddenly a store worker approached them all.

"Ladies, we've asked you to calm down once before and now we're going to have to ask you both to leave the store," he told them. His hands were shaking and he was so nervous he could barely speak.

A light suddenly went off in Buffy's head and she slid up behind Faith and whispered in her ear. "Just go with it." She decided she was gonna have some fun with the teenage boy working. She wrapped her arms around Faith's middle. "Baby, I thought I told you not to get into any trouble while I was shopping."

Faith stiffened for a moment before she realized what Buffy was doing and she turned in the blonde's arms and kissed her on the cheek. "I know. Sorry, babe. You two ready to go?"

Buffy nodded and gave her a sexy smile. "I'm ready to get you home and in bed, that's for sure."

Willow and Kennedy stood wide-eyed at the two and both smiled when the employee stood slack jawed watching the two girls. Willow finally rolled her eyes and grabbed Faith and Buffy each by an arm and dragged them away. "Come on, lust bunnies. The sooner we leave, the sooner you can get to bed.

The four girls burst out of the store laughing hysterically and could barely make it to the bus they were laughing so hard.

"Damn, B. I didn't think you had anything like that in you. That guy was about to pee himself he was so excited," Faith told her with a grin.

Willow took a deep breath and calmed her laughter. "I was wondering what was going on until I saw his face. That really wasn't very nice."

Buffy shook her head. "No, it wasn't, but I don't really care. I'm ready to have some fun and leave the responsibilities to someone else for a while."

"Are you sure there isn't something you two want to tell us?" Kennedy asked. "That was a pretty convincing performance back there."

Buffy and Faith exchanged a look, Buffy grinning and Faith winking with a sly smile. They both shook their heads. "That was just us having some fun," Buffy told her, not taking her eyes from Faith's.

Kennedy turned when she heard Buffy's tone, sensing something under the surface and she could see the longing in the oldest slayer's eyes. She couldn't believe she'd never seen it before. Suddenly the way Buffy acted towards Faith made perfect sense. She knew, without a doubt that Buffy was totally head over heels in love with Faith. She also decided that she was going to do something about it when the time was right.

Later that night, the gang boarded the bus and made their way to the hotel that Angel had booked for them. The group wearily exited the bus and after receiving their room keys they all met in Giles's room for a quick meeting.

"I know you are all tired," he stated to quiet the room. "I know you're all excited and anxious to find out what happens next. I am as well, but I think it can wait until tomorrow…or…next week," he joked with a small, tired smile and the gang found his comment funnier than it actually was. "I want you all to know how proud of all of you I am. I know we suffered losses today that will never be forgotten, but you were all outstanding in your fighting and defeat of the First." With that, the group let out a rather large applause. "I'm going to put Willow and Kennedy in charge of ordering some food and Buffy and Faith each have a bag for you with your clothes and toiletries so you can all shower and change."

As the group filed out of the room, Buffy and Faith handed each person a backpack with clothes and toiletries. Buffy sighed heavily and turned to Faith, handing her a bag as well.

"Faith, why don't you go ahead to the room and grab a shower. I'm gonna help Will and Kennedy order food for everyone," Buffy told her with a tired smile.

Faith raised an eyebrow and shook her head. "B, you go and shower and I'll stay and help. You were the one in the hospital today so I know you're dying to shower."

Buffy gave her a huge grin. "Thanks, Faith." Buffy tilted her head for a moment and studied the brunette slayer. She reached out and squeezed Faith's hand and gave her a grateful smile before heading out of the room to shower.

Faith smiled to herself a little, ignoring what Buffy's smile did to her. Her smile faded when she looked up and Kennedy was giving her a knowing smile. Faith rolled her eyes and approached the younger slayer. "What's up, Ken?"

Kennedy smirked and shook her head. "Nothing. That was sweet what you did for Buffy just now."

Faith rolled her eyes and glanced at Willow, who was on the phone with room service so she wasn't listening. "She was in the hospital earlier. I just thought she'd want to shower first."

Kennedy smiled. "Still, you seem close all of a sudden."

"No, we're just trying to get along. We're acting civil for once," Faith told her.

The younger slayer rolled her eyes. "No, I you're acting like you wanna sleep together, but you're too afraid to tell each other."

Faith froze, her eyes wide and she shoved Kennedy. "Shut up, Slick."

"Wow. Not the reaction I was expecting," the younger slayer replied with a grin. She approached her girlfriend, who noticed the grin on her face and gave her a look, wondering why she was smiling like that.

"Ken, what's up?" she asked cautiously.

The slayer shook her head and kissed Willow lightly. "Nothing, baby. I'm just happy we're all here and we're all okay."

Willow eyed her skeptically for a moment, but shook her head and continued to look over the room service menu to order for the girls.

It was actually a few days before they all gathered as a group again. Everyone was resting and recuperating and it felt good for them to take a few days to relax and regroup. Somehow Buffy and Faith found themselves sharing a room and the two of them had slept through the first night and the entire second day at the hotel. They got up a few times to eat some room service and watch a movie on TV, but neither of them left the room.

Faith was lying in her bed flipping through the channels and she could tell that they were both getting kind of restless. She wanted to suggest a bit of a celebration for everyone, but knew she needed to have a conversation with Buffy first. A knock on the door interrupted before Faith could get a word out of her mouth and Buffy got up to get the food they'd ordered from room service. "Can I ask you something, B?"

Buffy looked up with a smile and nodded her head. She went about setting up hers and Faith's plates on their beds as she waited patiently for Faith to talk to her.

"Thanks," Faith said as Buffy placed two plates on the bed in front of her. "Right after the crater thing with Sunny D, you just stood there forever and looked at the hole. What were you doing?"

Buffy saddened slightly and she sat down and took a few bites of her food. "I was saying goodbye." She sat silently for a moment and Faith wished she'd never brought it up. "I was saying goodbye to my mom and to Tara, to Miss Calendar, Anya and everyone else I lost along the way."

"Spike too?" Faith asked quietly.

Buffy nodded. "Spike too." She looked up and noticed Faith was sort of picking at her food, looking kind of down. "Why do you ask?"

Faith shrugged. "I just thought you might have been waitin' for him to dig himself out of the rubble."

Buffy's eyebrows scrunched together. "Faith he burned up from the inside. The amulet took all of him, there wasn't anything left to dig up."

Faith shrugged, wishing even more that she'd never brought it up. "Stranger things have happened, B. You know that."

Buffy sighed and began eating again. "People are in your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime, Faith. I think that Spike fell into the reason category and the reason came and went. I needed him to let me be when Willow brought me back. He was the only one that would let me be." She paused for a second. "Spike will always be in my heart, just like Mom and Tara and Anya and everyone else that I loved and lost. I don't want to dwell on the past, I want to focus on the future and moving on with you." She paused and quickly added, "and everyone else."

Faith's head snapped up when Buffy said she wanted to move on with her until she realized what the blonde was saying and she looked down quickly. She gave a stern nod of her head and looked up at Buffy. "I say we start movin' on tonight. How about we throw a party for the gang so they know how much we appreciate them fighting with us?" She paused a moment as the wheels started spinning. "We can get some alcohol and party it up and get some food and music. It'll be great."

Buffy gave her a look. "The girls can't drink, Faith."

Faith rolled her eyes. "Who the hell said anything about the girls drinking. The alcohol is for us, baby!" She got up and started bouncing on the bed. "We are so gonna party tonight!"

Buffy grinned and got up, jumping to Faith's bed and jumping up and down with the other slayer. The two of them began jumping back and forth from bed to bed until they both collapsed on Buffy's bed side by side.

"So does that mean you're up for a party?" Faith asked.

Buffy grinned and rolled over so she and Faith were nearly face-to-face. Both girls were breathing a little heavier than usual and they locked eyes for a moment. Buffy licked her lips and smiled when Faith's eyes followed her tongue's movements. "I can't wait."

Faith shook herself out of her trance and got up, pulling Buffy with her. "Time to go shopping then."

Buffy grinned and the two got up, showered and changed before heading down to the lobby to secure a ballroom for the night to have their party. They decided to keep the party a secret from the rest of the Scooby's until it was party time.

The next day, everyone gathered in Giles's room once again to have a meeting at his request. He had everyone's attention and he was relieved to see how much better they all looked…most of them anyways. Faith and Kennedy looked hung over as the two of them sat side by side with sunglasses on drinking coffee. He smiled when he looked over and found Buffy and Willow looking fresh, and smiling at Faith and Kennedy.

He stood and held up a hand. "If I could have your attention, I'll keep this short and to the point." He looked around as everyone gave him their attention and stopped talking. "Now, as you all know, the council was destroyed recently and all but a few members were killed in the blast. I have been in touch with them and we have decided that we will rebuild the council and I will be in charge." He paused as a ripple of chatter floated through the group. "Now, my plan is to spend a few days here so I can make all the arrangements I will need to before moving on to Cleveland and the other Hellmouth. I hope that you all will decide to join me there as we rebuild the council into what it was meant to be, but if you decide you would like to go home or retire, I will completely understand." He paused for a moment. "Take, the rest of the week to decide and let me know."

The group began to chatter quietly and Buffy flopped down on the couch next to Xander. "Hey, Xand. How ya doing?"

He gave the slayer a smile and a shrug. "Not bad, Buff. What do you think of the new Council thing with Giles?"

Buffy shrugged and pursed her lips. "I think it's great for Giles and I think it's really going to make a huge difference."

He gave her a knowing look. "But?"

Buffy grinned. "You know me too well." He shrugged and smiled. "But, I think I'm gonna take a break and take Dawn away for a while."

He smiled and slipped an arm around her shoulder. "I think you should."

Buffy tilted her head as a thought came to her. "Why don't you come with us? Maybe getting away will help."

Xander sighed heavily and shook his head. "I've thought about it, but I think that vacations give you too much down time to think and thinking time is not what I need. I need to jump right back into things to keep my mind off Anya."

Buffy frowned. "Are you sure you aren't just ignoring your pain?"

He shrugged again. "I'm not. I just don't want endless hours to pine over her either. I want to move on to the next part of my life."

Buffy nodded and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. "I love you, Xand, don't forget that. And if you change your mind, we'd love to have you along."

He squeezed her shoulders again and gave her a nod. "Thanks, Buff. I love you too." He glanced over at Faith and Kennedy and grinned. "Those two don't look so good."

Buffy smiled fondly as she glanced over at Faith, who still looked a little green. "No, they don't. But that's what they get for having a contest to see who could take more shots. Faith was really sick this morning."

Xander gave her a surprised look. "Faith let you see her sick? I'm surprised she didn't kill you just for being a witness to that."

Buffy shrugged, watching Faith as she and Kennedy chatted quietly on a couch across the room. "I don't even think she remembers to be honest."

"Well, they did drink a lot," he told her with a shake of his head. "You slayers can hold your liquor."

Buffy's face soured. "Let's not mention drinking any more. I still feel kind of queasy."

He gave her a smile and stood up, pulling her with him. "No more talk of the drinking, but let's get some breakfast. I'm starving."

Buffy nodded and smiled. "Mmm, breakfasty talk is making my tummy all rumbly." The pair approached Faith and Kennedy who were now talking with Willow and Buffy smiled when she saw Faith sit up a bit and pull her sunglasses to the top of her head when she saw them approach.

Xander threw an arm around Willow's shoulders and smiled. "Breakfast anyone? Me and Buff are gonna hit the restaurant."

Willow looked to her girlfriend and gave her a sympathetic smile when the new slayer seemed to turn even more green at the thought of food. "You feel like eating, sweetie?" she asked gently.

Kennedy shook her head and frowned. "I think I'm gonna go back to bed."

Willow nodded and looked up to her friends. "I'm gonna put her to bed and I'll meet you guys in a few minutes."

They all nodded and Buffy watched as Faith watched Willow and Kennedy head off to their room. Buffy saw something in Faith's gaze that seemed to be longing and she gave the other slayer a soft smile when she finally looked at her. Faith seemed to shake something off and she stood slowly. "So, breakfast?"

Buffy slid an arm through Faith's and she smiled when the brunette slayer leaned on her a bit. "Faith, are you sure you're feeling well enough to eat?"

Faith gave her a sly smile. "Why do you ask, B? You gonna take me to bed if I'm not?"

Buffy blushed and looked away, not seeing Xander giving them both a strange look as Faith grinned and finished off her cup of coffee on the way downstairs to the restaurant.

The three sat at the table and Buffy and Xander immediately began flipping through the menu, trying to decide what to eat. Faith was suddenly overwhelmed by all the scents around her. She could smell the syrup from the pancakes two tables away, she could smell the whipped cream from the waffles some little girl had at the table behind her, she could smell the cigarette smoke from the teenagers across the room and her stomach turned.

"Okay, maybe this is a bit too much," she mumbled as she placed a hand on her tummy.

Buffy looked up and reached over to rub Faith's back. "You okay?"

Faith shook her head and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I think I might go back to bed."

Buffy nodded and stood up. "I'll come with." She glanced at Xander who nodded. "Willow will be down in a minute and I'll be right back."

Faith shook her head. "No, B, I'll be fine. You stay here with X. I'll be okay on my own."

Buffy rolled her eyes and slid an arm around Faith's shoulders as she stood up. "Faith just shut up and accept the fact that I'm coming along for the ride."

Faith finally relented and sighed heavily. "Fine." She couldn't help but smile a little when she saw the brilliant smile Buffy flashed her. Faith managed to apologize to Xander before Buffy dragged her away and Xander waved her off, telling Buffy he'd order for her.

Faith opened the door to the hotel room a few hours later and found Giles standing on the other side. "Hey, G-man, come on in."

Giles entered the room and smiled at her. "Hello, Faith. Do you have a moment?"

Faith nodded and sat on the bed while he took the couch. "What's up?"

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he got settled.

The slayer shrugged. "Better. I knew I shouldn't have mixed the clear and dark liquors last night."

Giles gave her an uncomfortable smile, not knowing what to say. "Right."

The sat in awkward silence for a few moments until Faith gave him a look. "I know you didn't come here to check up on me, G. What's really going on?"

"Right, sorry." Giles removed his glasses and looked her dead in the eye. "Faith, we're going to wipe your record clean."

Faith sat and waited. She waited for Giles to laugh; she waited for him to tell her he was kidding. She waited for the people to jump out and tell her she was on candid camera. When none of those things happened, Faith realized that Giles might not be kidding about what he was saying to her. "Can you do that?"

Giles nodded slowly, watching her carefully. "Willow and Angel can."

"Why?" Faith asked, still looking for the catch.

Giles gave her a smile and laid a reassuring hand on her arm. "Faith, you told me that you want to come with us to Cleveland and fight this fight. I can't allow you to come with us as a wanted felon. With Sunnydale's implosion, the authorities will most likely assume you didn't make it, and while there's still some confusion, we can make sure they don't look for you once things calm down."

"You can just trust me, just like that?" she asked him quietly.

Giles smiled softly and nodded. "Yes. We can."

"How do you know I won't run?" she asked.

"If you were going to run, you would have already," he told her softly.

Faith sat for a few minutes in stunned silence. She finally looked up at Giles and noticed he was watching her. "I won't do you wrong, G."

He gave her a warm smile and stood up. "I know you won't, Faith. This is the chance we've all been waiting for to do things the way they should have been done the first time."

She nodded as that statement swirled in her brain. It seemed to apply to just about every aspect of her life these days and she vowed in that moment that she was going to do everything the right way this time.

"Thanks, Giles. I mean it." She pulled him into a quick, awkward hug and released him just as quickly looking uncomfortable immediately.

He cupped her chin in his hand and gave her a warm smile, which was returned before he left her in the room alone to think about her newfound freedom for what seemed like the first time in her life.

Buffy found Willow down by the pool a few hours later watching Kennedy play in the water with Faith and a few of the other new slayers. The redhead smiled and waved Buffy over and the slayer took a seat next to her best friend.

"Hey, Will."

"Hey, Buff. How's the tummy?" she asked as she shielded her eyes from the sun with her hand.

The slayer shrugged and pulled her shirt over her head to reveal her bikini top. "All better. Slayer healing kicks ass as per usual." She glanced at the slayers in the pool. "They seem better."

"Slayer healing kicking ass, I guess." Willow smiled and turned towards the pool as she heard her girlfriend shriek. She caught the tail end of Kennedy flying in the air and splashing into the pool.

Buffy got herself comfortable and put some sunscreen on. She sat back in her chair and relaxed for a few minutes before asking the question she'd been dying to ask. "So have you two decided what you're going to do?"

Willow took a long look at Buffy and gave her a smile. "We're going to Cleveland with Giles I think"

Buffy nodded and smiled, knowing that was the answer she was going to get. "Really?"

Willow smiled broadly. "Really. I know that Kennedy is excited about being a slayer and I really want to stay close to Giles until I figure out what all that white mojo was in the school."

Buffy nodded, wishing she had that much enthusiasm. "I think I need a break for a while."

Willow gave her an understanding smile and grasped her hand. "Buffy, you should take one if you feel that way. You were drafted in this fight, we enlisted. You should take Dawn and go away for a while and when you come back, you'll have a clear head and be ready to fight again."

Buffy felt tears in her eyes, thanking whoever was listening that Willow was her best friend. "Thanks, Will."

The redhead smiled and shook her head. "Don't thank me, Buffy. Just promise you won't come back until you're ready. You really deserve a break."

Buffy grinned and nodded. "I promise."

Kennedy glanced up and noticed Faith watching the two best friends. She was fully aware of Buffy's feelings for Faith and she was trying desperately to pick up on anything from Faith to see if the feelings were mutual. She'd heard the stories of the classic battles between the two slayers back in the day and she'd seen them interact in the house before the fight with the first. She, like everyone, always sensed some kind of tension between the two of them, but she figured it was just a slayer thing and now she was wondering if it was something else entirely.

"I really hope it's not my girl that you're checking out over there," Kennedy told the older slayer with a playful shove.

Faith glared at her and splashed some water at her. "I'm not checking anyone out, kiddo."

Kennedy gave her a skeptical look. "Right. I'm guessing you were just deep in thought then?"

"Actually I was," she replied. "Giles told me earlier that he wants to wipe my record clean so I can come to Cleveland with you guys, no problems."

Kennedy grinned. "That's great, Faith."

The older slayer shrugged. "Forgive and forget, right?"

"I think the forgiving has already been done," Kennedy told her quietly.

Faith nodded, staying quiet for a minute. "I'll never forget."

The younger slayer pursed her lips. "I don't think they will either. I think the most important thing is that they won't forget what you did in the fight with the First either. That to me is a far bigger thing to remember."

Faith grinned suddenly when she realized how much the younger slayer had gotten her to say and she put her walls back up and began a wrestling match in the pool with the other slayer as Willow and Buffy watched wondering what had the two younger slayers in such a deep conversation only seconds before.

Faith looked up from her seat at the window smoking when Buffy huffed into the room and slammed the door behind her. "B, what's up?"

Buffy glared at her and Faith was almost positive that she heard the other slayer growl. "I should have staked him years ago."

Faith smiled and held out the pack of cigarettes to the other girl. "What did Angel do this time?"

Buffy scowled and grabbed the pack of smokes, plucking one out and letting Faith light it. She took a deep drag and blew the smoke out, feeling better instantly. "He's the CEO of Wolfram and Hart."

Faith choked on the smoke in her lungs and looked wide-eyed at Buffy. "Bullshit. The evil law firm that hired me to kill him a few years ago? I remember them, do you remember them? Does he remember them?"

Buffy looked at Faith with a raised eyebrow, she'd never really heard Faith babble and she suspected that was probably the closest she'd ever get to hearing it. She shook her head when she realized there were no words for this situation. "He tells me that he wants to fight from the belly of the beast."

Faith gave her a skeptical look and rolled her eyes. "Sure he does." She thought a moment and something else occurred to her. "The whole Angel Inc. crew is there?" Faith asked, thinking about Fred and Lorne, not sure she could see the two of them doing well at an evil law firm. The others, she was sure, could handle themselves.

"Apparently," Buffy told her with a dark frown.

"You don't think he's bad again, do you?" Faith asked quietly.

Buffy shook her head and took a deep drag of her cigarette. "No. I don't."

"How can you be sure?" Faith asked quietly, hoping Buffy was right.

Buffy sighed heavily. "Well, I talked to Wes and Fred and Gunn and even Lorne. They swore to me that it's all on the up and up."

Suddenly a very disturbing thought came to the younger slayer. "You don't think they're all bad, do you?"

Buffy looked up and met Faith's eyes and they both contemplated the question for a few moments and both shook their heads, thinking they were being a bit paranoid. "Let's really hope not, otherwise him getting us these rooms to stay in somehow fits into an evil plan and I'm not entirely comfortable going there."

Faith waved it off. "Yeah, I'm sure he really does think that he can fight the bad guys from that place. If they don't eat him or stake him or behead him or set him on fire first."

Buffy frowned again. "When you put it that way I'm less scared for us, which is definitely of the good, but more scared for him, which is of the bad."

Faith shook her head and waved her hand. "B, Angel survived all these years with Wolfram & Hart actually trying to kill him, he'll be fine now that he's in charge, don't ya think?"

Buffy shrugged and finished her cigarette. "Let's hope so."

Buffy and Willow sat side by side with their feet dangling in the pool late one night. Hours earlier they'd watched their friends celebrate with too much alcohol and pass out so they were the only ones still awake. Each had a fruity cocktail on the concrete next to them as they chatted like two best friends who hadn't been through what they'd been through.

"Do you think we're all becoming alcoholics?" Buffy asked, only half serious.

Willow took a sip of her drink. "No. I like to think of it as making up for lost time."

Buffy thought for a second and shrugged. "I can live with that."

They were both silent a few minutes, Buffy leaning back on her arms, just staring up at the sky. Willow could sense something was going on with her best friend, but she didn't want to push knowing Buffy would tell her in her own time.

"Giles got the Council accounts in order and he said we can all go out shopping tomorrow," Willow said with a wide smile. The alcohol was beginning to get her a bit tipsy.

Buffy grinned. "Really? That's great. I don't know how much longer I can live in the two sets of clothes we all got at the store that day."

Willow's face soured. "I know what you mean." She paused and smiled. "Ya know, despite being homeless and not having clothes and belongings and stuff, I'm still really excited about what we're doing."

Buffy glanced at her friend out of the corner of her eye and smiled. "Will, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," the redhead replied, knowing what was next.

"Do you think we're crazy for letting Faith back into this so quickly?" she asked softly.

Willow took a sip of her drink so she had a moment to think, that wasn't what she was expecting. "No. Buffy, I'm not sure we would have made it through that fight without her. When you went down, she stepped up and took over."

Buffy nodded sternly. "Good. I just wanted to make sure we're all on the same page when it comes with Faith."

The redhead's eyes narrowed slightly and she shot a sly glace at her friend. "Why all the Faithy talk all of a sudden?"

Buffy blushed, luckily it was unnoticed in the dark. "No reason. Just making small talk."

"Small talk?" she asked shaking her head. "If you say so."

"So how are you and Kennedy?" Buffy asked quietly.

Willow ducked her head and Buffy couldn't help but notice the grin on her face. "I started things with her thinking it would never work…" she paused. "She's all I think about. I want to be with her all the time. I think I even dream about her."

Buffy grinned and took a long sip of her drink, trying not to embarrass her friend any more. "I think it's great, Will."

"Do you think Xander will be okay?" she asked softly, taking the focus off of herself.

Buffy's brow furrowed a bit and she took a long sip of her drink. "I hope so."

"He told me you asked him to go with you and Dawn."

She nodded. "I did. I thought it might do him some good."

They sat silently for a few minutes and both looked up when they heard Faith and Kennedy's laughter getting closer. They soon heard hurried footfalls with the laughter and knew it was only a matter of seconds before the two slayers would be barreling past them. They both picked up their drinks quickly and leaned back out of the spray of water as the two slayers hit the water and splashed them both.

"Faith!" Buffy yelled out.

"Kennedy!" Willow yelled at the same time, both smiling.

The two friends tried desperately to get up, but the alcohol slowed them both down and they couldn't get away quick enough as the two brunette slayers swam over to them and yanked them in by their feet. Buffy and Willow both yelped as they were dragged into the pool, and grinned as the slayers surfaced, grinning from ear to ear.

"Nice, Ken," Faith called out as she held up a hand for a high five.

"Perfectly planned," she replied, slapping the hand up high. "Perfectly executed."

Buffy smiled and kept her eyes on Faith, who swam nearby, her chin barely touching the water, grinning at her. To Buffy, she'd never looked more beautiful. Her make up had been washed out, her hair slicked back from her face and the tiny drops of water threatening to fall from her chin and her nose made Buffy want to reach out and kiss them away.

The four girls played in the pool for a few minutes before pulling themselves out of the water. Buffy felt herself get warm as she watched Faith pull her hair from her face. Her shirt clung to her curves in all the right places and the blonde slayer found it terribly difficult not to reach out and kiss Faith silly.

She glanced over and happened to catch Kennedy watching them out of the corner of her eye so she shelved her thoughts and emotions and made her way up to the room to change.

Later that night, Buffy took a sip of her beer and looked over her shoulder at the clock. She pursed her lips when she saw that it was well past 4 in the morning. She burrowed deeper into the pillows and blankets around her on the bed and looked over when Faith emerged from the bathroom. The steam from the hot shower escaped around her and Buffy was absolutely captivated by her beauty.

Faith leaned over slowly, grabbing Buffy's beer and taking a sip. "Ya got more where this came from?" she asked holding up the beer in her hand, handing it back to her.

Buffy shook herself from her clouded state and smiled. "Yeah, there's some in the fridge."

Faith grinned and grabbed a beer and a cigarette and sat on the windowsill to smoke. Buffy took a deep breath in and closed her eyes. The cool night air filtered into the room along with the smell of Faith's shampoo and body wash. Wisps of smoke made their way in as well and her head swam with the sensory overload mixed with the alcohol.

"I can't remember the last time I was this happy," she mumbled happily.

Faith looked over and smiled fondly at Buffy sprawled out on her bed, surrounded by pillows and blankets, a beer resting on her belly lazily. "You look happy, B."

"It makes me happy that you're here…with me and with us," Buffy told her softly, her cheeks flushing and eyes bright.

Faith smiled and bowed her head. She took a drag of her cigarette and flicked it out the window. "B, I really am sorry about what happened back then."

Buffy stood up from the bed and approached Faith slowly and wobbly. She shook her head and pulled Faith into a tight hug. "I am too."

Faith pulled back and found herself nearly nose to nose with Buffy and for a moment the air became charged with something Faith had never felt before. Buffy leaned in ever so slightly and their noses grazed just enough to make her take a step back and shake her head. Faith suddenly exhaled a breath that she didn't even realize she'd been holding and took a long drink of her beer.

Buffy lit a cigarette and shook her head clear. She couldn't believe that she'd been that close to kissing Faith and messing everything up. "Can I ask you something?" she asked quietly.

Faith simply nodded.

"Did you ever get scared down in the seal?"

Faith gave a look that indicated that was the last thing she expected Buffy to ask her and she took in a deep breath, sighing heavily. "Honestly? Yeah," she replied.

Buffy nodded her head slowly, keeping her eyes trained on her beer bottle. "I didn't think we'd make it through that one. I was scared that I'd never see Dawn again."

Faith grinned a bit and lit a cigarette. "Of all the crazy ass ideas you've come up with in the past, making those girls slayers was definitely on the top of the list of crazy shit that really shouldn't work."

Buffy shrugged and looked serious suddenly. "Well, I knew Willow could do it. I just knew her making the girls into slayers would be the easy part. I didn't think we'd survive down in the seal."

"I gotta say, you scared the shit outta me when you went down," Faith told her, refusing to make any sort of eye contact.

Buffy suddenly felt a warmth consume her and she felt her heart swell. "Aww, Faith, I knew deep down you really cared about me."

Faith rolled her eyes and gave Buffy an evil smile. She flicked her cigarette out the window and stood up slowly. "You think that's funny Princess?" she asked as she held her hands up, wiggling her fingers. Buffy recognized that stance and flicked her cigarette out the window quickly, standing up and moving back.

"Wait, Faith we can talk about this, we can work this out without resorting to violence," she told her as her knees hit the bed and she toppled backwards. Faith took that opportunity to jump on the bed as well and she began tickling Buffy for all she was worth. It was short lived however, seeing as how it was well past 4 am and they didn't want to wake everyone up on the floor.

"Maybe now you'll think twice before you mess with me," Faith told her with a smirk as she approached her own bed.

Buffy smiled and rolled over on her belly, watching Faith move around the room. She watched as Faith turned out the bathroom light and slid her jeans down her taught legs until she was left in nothing but a wife beater and her usual boy cut briefs. "One more smoke before bed?"

Faith pursed her lips and shrugged. "Sure." She didn't bother putting her jeans back on and Buffy felt her stomach flip flop as she watched Faith approach the window and sit on the sill. She had to force herself to look away and light the two cigarettes in her hand as Faith sat next to her. Her hand shook ever so slightly as she handed a cigarette to Faith and the two sat in silence as they smoked.

"Ever feel like this is the way it was supposed to be?" Faith asked a moment later.

Buffy grinned and took a sip of her beer. "It's felt that way since the moment we beat the First."

Faith studied her for a moment and Buffy blushed under the scrutiny. "You and me are gonna be okay, B."

Buffy grinned. "Of course we are."

Faith smiled and snubbed out her cigarette a moment later and stood up, Buffy's eyes trailing her the entire way. She really couldn't help it, Faith made it impossible to look away, she was too damn beautiful. The dark slayer crawled into bed and turned off the light next to the bed. "Night, B."

"Night, Faith," she replied, her heart aching wishing Faith would love her back.

She drifted off to sleep after a long hour of simply listening to Faith sleep deeply, the steady rhythm lulling her to sleep.


	2. Here we go

The next few weeks were spent with Giles on the phone and Willow on the Internet making all the arrangements he needed to get the council affairs in order. He'd managed to find an old abandoned boarding school that he purchased with the council's money. The school would be perfect since it had dorms for the girls and everything else they would need to run a successful school for the slayers. The school sat on ten acres of land and thick trees surrounded the majority of the property. The trees would allow for the kind of privacy they would need to train the slayers. There was even a lake that they could swim in and train in.

A few weeks later, the gang dropped Dawn and Buffy off at the airport so they could go on their European vacation. Giles, Xander and Andrew piled into one SUV and Faith, Willow and Kennedy got into the other. They left the new slayers under Angel's watchful eye until the school was ready to open.

"This place is gonna take a lot of work," Faith stated from the back seat as she looked through a file folder with all the school information.

"Not only a lot of elbow grease work, but a lot of mystical work too. We're going to be responsible for keeping all these girls safe," Willow commented from behind the wheel.

Faith shrugged. "Don't forget that these girls are slayers, Red."

"I totally understand, but that doesn't mean they aren't still fifteen and sixteen year old girls that need a lot of rules and guidance," Willow reminded her.

"Wait, I don't want to be morbid, but what happens if a slayer dies?" Kennedy asked as she looked over another file with school information.

"Yeah, Red. I mean, we can't be held responsible, can we?" Faith asked her.

Willow thought a moment and furrowed her brow. "No, I think Giles will have the girls and their parents sign waivers that would release us from responsibility."

"Ah the good old days when a slayer just fought the good fight cause it was the right thing to do," Faith said from the back seat with a sarcastic smile.

Willow smiled and shook her head. "I do have a few ideas that might help the girls stay a bit more safe."

"Please tell me your ideas don't involve force fields," Faith told her with a groan.

Kennedy and Willow both laughed thinking back to Andrew's ideas for the school's security. "No, actually I was thinking about making protection potions and transferring the protective elements into something like a necklace or a ring and giving them to all the girls. I used to make them for Buffy back in high school. I think they'll be a bit better nowadays though. Titanium seems to be fairly receptive to the spell's elements"

"Protective jewelry," Faith mused, "the newest fad coming to a Hellmouth near you."

"Any idea how many girls they've found so far?" Kennedy asked as she gripped Willow's hand and lifted it to her lips for a quick kiss.

Willow smiled and shook her head. "I'm not sure. I haven't spoken to the Coven since Sunnydale. Giles has been doing most of the talking. The last count was 43"

"So we're all gonna be living on campus with the girls, right?" Faith asked as she pulled her cigarettes out of her pocket. "You guys mind if I smoke?"

Willow shook her head. "Go ahead, Faith." She glanced at Kennedy for a second. "Giles said that the dorm building has some bigger rooms on the top floor that are much nicer so we figured we could all move in there just in case something does happen."

Faith shrugged and took a drag of her smoke. "Makes sense."

"Well, we wouldn't have to live there forever," Willow mused. "Just until the Council is up and running and once we have a few slayers we can count on to run thing when we aren't around, we can move out if we want to."

"Trying to get out before we even get in, Red?" Faith asked with a grin.

Willow shook her head. "No. I just don't want to live in the dorms for the rest of my life."

"Wish I could say I even knew what it was like," Faith told her as she lit a cigarette.

"Me too," Kennedy chimed in.

Willow suddenly felt guilty. "Sorry." She smiled when both slayers shook their heads and looked away.

It only lasted a minute as Kennedy and Faith launched into battle strategies and they began swapping war stories and stories from in the seal. She drove in silence simply listening. She was stunned when she realized Kennedy had a very strange ability to get Faith to talk about things Willow had never heard her mention. It was relatively short lived as the boys called so they could pull over to eat lunch.

Later that night, Faith left Kennedy and Willow in the room with some privacy as she went out with Xander to get a few drinks. She could tell that the two of them were looking for some alone time and she wanted to have some time to talk to Xander.

Once they were seated at a table and had their drinks they fell into easy conversation.

"Faith, you have no idea how glad I am that you came back."

The slayer took a sip of her beer and pursed her lips slightly. "Why's that?"

"Buffy needed you," he told her. She looked up at him with surprise in his eyes. "She knew that we were behind her and she knew that we'd let her lead, but I think with the First, she was in over her head and it scared the hell out of her. She didn't think we'd win and neither did any of the rest of us. Willow did the right thing bringing you back and I don't think any of us would have made it without you."

Faith gave him a genuine smile and clinked his beer with hers. "X, I love you man. You have no idea how much that means to me."

Xander gave her a warm smile. "I love you too, Faith. You're a big part of this team and this group and I don't ever want you to forget that. I've got your back."

Faith felt her chin quiver for the slightest second and she blinked away some tears. "Okay you have to stop, you're getting mushy."

Xander laughed and the two of them fell into comfortable conversation for the next few hours until they returned to their rooms.

Faith closed the door quietly behind her and smiled at Kennedy when she noticed she was still awake.

"You look a little more calmed down than when I left," Faith commented with a grin.

Kennedy looked over to make sure Willow was still asleep and she shrugged languidly, running a hand through Willow's hair. "She does have that affect on me."

Faith shook her head and took her jacket and boots off before sifting through her bag to find something to sleep in. She pause a moment, her back to the other two girls. "You did good in the fight, Ken. You did me and B proud." She could almost hear Kennedy grinning widely. She turned and wasn't surprised when the younger girl looked like a happy puppy. "Look, don't get all goofy on me. I just never got the chance to tell you that I was proud of you.'

Kennedy's smile suddenly changed and she looked a little sappier. "That means a lot, Faith. Thanks."

Faith shrugged and headed for the bathroom. She took her time in the shower, still not used to not having either communal showers or little baby slayers knocking on her door trying to get her to hurry up. When she emerged from the bathroom in a wife beater and flannel pajama pants, she was towel drying her hair and was surprised to see Kennedy still awake.

"Still have the fidgets?" she asked shaking her head.

Kennedy suddenly grinned widely. "I'm a slayer," she mumbled, still almost in awe.

Faith rolled her eyes and shook her head again. "Kiddo, you've been a slayer for a few weeks now. Are you just tuning in?"

Kennedy looked shy suddenly. "No. Sometimes it just hits me and I can't really wrap my head around it."

"You'll get used to it," Faith told her.

The younger girl shrugged. "I know. Don't you ever just get really excited about what we're doing? The way Willow was talking about it, we're gonna be professional slayers."

Faith stopped suddenly and sat on the bed to put lotion on. "Wait, what?"

Kennedy gave her a look. "Yeah, the Council is gonna pay us to be slayers."

"Damn," Faith whispered, wrapping her head around that. "I didn't even think about that. I guess when you put it that way, I have a lot more to be excited about when it comes to risking my neck."

Kennedy gave her a smug grin. "See? It's not just me."

Faith smiled and grabbed the remote for the TV, flipping the station to some bad horror movie and leaned back against the bed. A few minutes later she grinned as she heard Kennedy start to snore and she realized how happy she was that her life finally seemed to be turning around.

The next morning Faith was up early and had her bags sitting beside the car as Xander and Giles were emerging from their room. They all smiled and said their good mornings before Giles started packing their cars. Willow and Kennedy emerged a few minutes later and Willow began mapping out the route with Giles on the hood of the car. Kennedy ran her hand over Willow's hair and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I see the pre-dawn hour has no impact on them being sickeningly sweet as always," Xander joked as he approached Faith with a smile.

"You know how young love is," Faith joked back with a smile.

"Wanna come with to get some breakfast?" Xander asked.

Faith smiled and nodded. "I'm up for it."

Kennedy heard breakfast and tagged along, fidgeting and bouncing the whole way. "Faith how do you deal with this all the time. I feel like I could explode at any second."

Faith grinned and shook her head, pulling a smoke out of her pocket. "Look, kiddo, we're gonna have more baby slayers than we know what to do with here in a few weeks. You'll be so busy you can't breathe. Take advantage of the down time while we have it."

Kennedy gave her a look. "That's all the advice I get?"

Faith and Xander exchanged a look. "Until we can get out and slay a little bit, get Willow to scratch your itch…that's the best advice I can give."

Xander frowned. "Not what I wanted to hear about my yellow crayon Willow."

Faith and Kennedy exchanged a smile. "So who's scratching your itch, Faith?"

The older slayer gave her a funny look. "Why you asking, Slick? You know a volunteer?"

Kennedy grinned. "I think I might know someone."

Faith didn't like the tone of the younger slayer's voice and she just shook her head. "Whatever you say, Slugger."

Xander couldn't help but be a bit curious about who Kennedy was talking about. He thought that Faith and Wood had been a couple, then again it didn't surprise him that she was thinking of moving on so quickly. He let those thoughts go as they entered the restaurant and ordered food.

By the time they got back, Willow and Giles had planned their trip for the day and where ready for their breakfast. Faith and Xander handed out food and coffee and other drinks and Faith sat on the hood of the girl's Durango while she ate. Kennedy leaned up against the car next to Faith and watched as the older slayer took a sip of her steaming coffee. Faith seemed to be unusually at peace and Kennedy just had to ask why, or how…she needed answers.

"How are you not bursting with energy?" she asked again.

Faith smirked and took a bite of her breakfast sandwich. "Ken, just take a second and look around. We're free and we're on our way to do this totally kick ass thing. Just take it all in for a few minutes, then get antsy again."

Kennedy's brow furrowed as she chewed on Faith's words for a minute. She took her advice literally and looked around. She didn't even know what state they were in, but the morning brought out a fog that settled on everything and it was only minutes before dawn. Everything was soft and hazy and a beautiful blue hue. The air was clean and less polluted than the air in LA had been and she had to admit that it was beautiful and she loved it.

A minute later she looked up and Faith was watching her with a smile. "Well it's about fuckin' time you listened to me, kid," Faith told her with a smile.

Kennedy smiled and sipped at her coffee and finished her breakfast before hopping in the car for the ride.

Faith sat behind the wheel of the girls' car a few hours later and did her best to keep her eyes on the road as she reached in the compartment between the seats to get her sunglasses. The car swerved for a moment before she pulled them out and glanced at them. Faith began digging again for some tissue to wipe the lenses clean and the car swerved again. Without looking up from the folder in her hands, Kennedy held her hand out to Faith for the glasses. When she didn't hand them over right away, the younger slayer wiggled her fingers playfully. The older slayer smiled in spite of herself as she handed the sunglasses to the girl next to her. Kennedy located the package of tissue between the seats and cleaned the lenses of Faith's glasses and handed them back.

"All you had to do was ask," Kennedy told her with a smile.

Faith smirked. "I was never one to ask. My motto was always 'want, take, have'."

"Doesn't seem that way now," Kennedy told her cryptically.

"What's that supposed to mean?" the older slayer asked her, glancing in the rear-view mirror to see if Willow was still asleep.

Kennedy shrugged. "Well, I get the feeling that there's something you want and you're too afraid to take it." She paused and rephrased. "Maybe I should say that there's someone you want."

Faith gave her a sidelong glance. "Look, Ken, you really need to drop this thing with me and B. You're reading things way wrong."

"Am I really?" Kennedy challenged.

Faith's gaze stayed on the road and her jaw clenched. "Yeah. You are."

Kennedy's cell phone rang and she glanced at the caller ID, noticing that it was Xander. "Saved by the cell."

Faith smiled despite the lameness of the joke as she listened to Kennedy's half of the conversation. When the younger slayer hung up she placed the phone in the space between the seats. "The guys want to stop up here in a few miles. Andrew has to pee."

Faith rolled her eyes. "He's got the bladder of a four year old."

"I'm just glad he's not riding with us," Kennedy told her with a small smile.

"You and me both, Slick," Faith replied with a shake of her head.

Kennedy reached around and began to rouse the sleeping Willow and a minute later, the gang was getting out of the cars and stretching their tired muscles.

Faith and Xander hit the vending machines and made sure each car was stocked with snacks and drinks and soon enough they were piled back in the cars on their way again.

Willow took over driving with Faith in the seat next to her. Kennedy sprawled out in the back to take a nap and within minutes she was out.

"All the energy she has and she's passed out in no time," Faith noticed with a smirk.

Willow smiled and glanced in the rear-view mirror. "I think she's wearing herself out with all the twitchiness and nervous energy."

"Fidgeting herself into a deep sleep?" Faith asked.

Willow shrugged. "That's all I got."

Faith smiled and lit a cigarette. She took a deep drag and thought for a moment. "Hey, lemme ask you something, Red."

Willow nodded her head. "Sure."

Faith pursed her lips and took a drag of her smoke, blowing the smoke out slowly. "Do you feel like you were really able to let go when you made the baby slayers?"

Willow suddenly looked far away for a second and when she came back she had a very peaceful look in her eyes. "I do."

Faith gave her a strange look. "Am I missing something? Why do you look all blissful?"

Willow blushed and shook her head. "Kennedy promised that she would be my kite string. I knew that if things got black and ugly, she would take care of me."

Faith's eyebrows furrowed together. "Take care of you like kill you?"

"Yeah, actually," Willow replied, frowning now that things seemed more grim than blissful.

"Hm," Faith murmured.

"Why do you ask?" Willow wondered aloud.

Faith shrugged and took another long drag of her cigarette, using it as an excuse to think for a moment. "I don't feel like I did."

"Did what?"

"Let go." Faith flicked her smoke out the window and rolled it up. "We were in the fight of our lives and I still feel like I held back."

Willow immediately shook her head. "No, Faith." She glanced back at Kennedy again. "I heard you took over when Buffy went down and fought harder than anyone down there."

Faith actually seemed to blush. "I didn't have a kite string."

Willow smiled. "I think you did."

Faith glanced at Willow and pondered her cryptic words and noticed the redhead had a tiny smile on her face. Faith couldn't help but feel she was missing something, but she let it go and pulled out the file on the school again so she could get more acquainted with it.


	3. Here we are

Well, I know it's been a million years since I updated this thing so I tried to give you a big fat chapter to make up for it. I hope you can forgive me for it. Enjoy!!

Section one

Later that night, they pulled the two cars into parking spaces in front of the hotel. Giles gave them their room keys and retired early for the night. Xander and Andrew joined the girls in their room and they all decided to go swimming and do a little drinking before they went out to a club they'd heard of.

Willow and Xander watched as the two slayers danced for three hours straight only pausing to take shots and having a nightlong contest to see who could drink more.

They all ended up getting thrown out of the club after Kennedy and Faith decided it would be fun to have a drunken wrestling match in the middle of the dance floor. The bouncers didn't find it nearly as funny as the slayers did when the two girls picked them up and carried them to the door before leaving quickly and being told they were never allowed back in.

Section two:

They finally arrived in Cleveland the next evening and checked into another hotel. Faith and Xander wandered over to the convenience store and grabbed some beer for the card game they had planned for later. The girls managed to find a laundry mat nearby and Faith brought some beer along while the girls sat and did laundry.

"Faith, you've slept with your share of people, right?" Kennedy asked as she sipped her beer.

The other slayer shrugged. "I guess so."

"Ever done it with another girl?" she asked curiously.

Faith sipped her beer and hopped off the dryer she was sitting on. "Nope…I've kissed a few, but girls are even worse about wanting to be sleepover buddies than guys are. I didn't even want to go there."

"Makes sense I guess," Kennedy murmured, she caught Willow's look and backtracked. "Makes sense for those who don't like sleepovers that is."

Faith gave Kennedy a strange look before she stepped outside for a minute to smoke leaving the other two alone inside. "Why all the questions about Faith's sex life?"

Kennedy shrugged. "No reason."

Willow gave her a skeptical look. "You're gonna have to do better than that with me."

Kennedy had her own reasons for delving into Faith's personal life. She knew that Faith had never been shy to tell all about conquests in bed and she figured the best way to get Faith to start talking to her about other personal stuff was to get her to talk about personal sex stuff that she knew she'd want to talk about. What she didn't want to tell Willow just yet was her theory about the slayers being totally in love.

"It's nothing, really," she told the redhead and put on a cheesy smile.

Willow rolled her eyes and leaned in for a quick kiss. "You better not be thinking about a threesome with her."

Kennedy's face instantly soured. "Ew, no." Willow raised an eyebrow. "Okay, maybe not ew, she's pretty hot, but she's not you."

Willow smiled triumphantly and turned when the buzzer went off on the dryer. "Good answer."

Kennedy watched as Willow folded their clothes and Faith's too and bundled them all in a bag. The slayer hopped off the dryer and followed her out of the small laundry mat.

Willow dawdled behind as she watched the two slayers laugh and tease each other as they wandered along back to the hotel. She smiled thinking about how much more relaxed Faith had been since they began their journey. She knew without a doubt that they'd made the right choice when they wiped her record clean.

Section three

When Faith emerged from the girl's room their first morning in Cleveland, she found Xander on his cell phone pacing in the parking lot. He seemed to be talking about the school with someone. He gave her a smile and continued his conversation as she took a seat on the sidewalk and lit a cigarette. A minute later Giles emerged from his room and smiled at both of them.

"Morning, G."

"Faith," he replied. "Good morning, I trust you slept well?"

She shook her head. "Nah, actually I was a bit excited about today and gettin' started so I didn't sleep much at all."

He smiled a bit wider. "I know what you mean."

Xander hung up the phone and smiled as he approached the pair of them. "Morning. Are Will and Kennedy ready?"

Faith nodded. "They'll be out in a minute."

"Giles, how about me and Faith go get breakfast and meet you guys at the school?" Xander asked him.

He nodded. "Of course. Just make sure you get a few jelly filled."

Faith grinned and winked. "We got it all taken care of."

The two of them hopped into one of the SUV's and took off to grab breakfast for the gang before they started their first day of work.

Section four:

"Okay, guys, I've hired some contractors to come out and fix the gym and the cafeteria first since those looked the worst," Xander told them once they were settled in the library with doughnuts and coffee. "This morning I want you to make some lists of broken furniture or windows or doors in the building you're working in and I'll get new stuff ordered as we make the lists. I plan on having pizza ordered around noon so come back then."

Faith, Kennedy and Willow stood up to head for the exit. Faith turned to address everyone. "Steer clear of the courtyard under the dorms, we're gonna have some flying furniture down there."

Xander, Giles and Andrew nodded before heading off to do their things as well.

The girls approached the dorm building and Faith took a deep breath in and smiled. She couldn't believe how excited she was that they were finally here and working on things. She felt like this was her one chance to do something with her life and she wasn't about to waste it. Her mother and all her worthless boyfriends, her teachers and even old friends had always made sure Faith knew exactly where she stood and never missed a chance to tell her she was a loser that would never amount to anything. She knew now they were all wrong and she'd never been more proud.

The girls entered the building and their faces all soured at the smell of the building.

"I guess this place has just been stewing in its own juices too long," Kennedy noted with a frown.

Willow nodded. "I'll work on opening windows first.

"Not a bad idea, Red," Faith told her as they moved down the hall. Kennedy reached out to hit the button on the elevator but Faith grasped her wrist. "I'd wait on that one til Xander can get one of his boys to take a look, Kiddo."

Kennedy gave her a sheepish grin and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Faith gave her a nudge and cocked her head towards the stairs. "You're always whining about too much energy and here's your chance to burn some off."

Kennedy thought a moment and grinned. "Wanna race?"

With that, Willow watched as Faith smiled and shoved Kennedy a bit and they both took off up the stairs in a race to the top floor. She smiled as she heard them both laughing as they made their way up. She'd never really seen Faith let go and be silly before and she found that she liked the brunette slayer more and more as every day passed.

Willow started on the top floor of the dorms and worked her way down. She opened all the windows in the rooms to let some air in and made notes of the rooms with broken windows or doors that would have to be replaced. Faith and Kennedy went room-to-room and dumped broken furniture out the windows into two large dumpsters in the courtyard below.

The dorm building had seven floors and could house 400 slayers. The top floor of the dorm building was set up with eight large apartments. The gang assumed they were meant for staff. The rest of the top floor space was common area. The gang decided they would take up residence in that space so they could all be close in case something went down at the dorms. They had plenty of room for couches and a TV and any other entertainment they might want in the common space on their floor. Xander already had plans for a pool table in the space. Every two rooms shared a very large bathroom and the gang decided that Willow and Kennedy's rooms would share a bathroom, Faith and Buffy would share and Xander and Dawn would share. Giles was going to be taking up residence in a small cottage in the rear of the property to give him some privacy and Andrew found some space in the basement that he decided to convert into the security center and his own apartment.

Faith grabbed two beers from the small cooler she and Kennedy had in the hallway. She pulled a cigarette from the pack in her pocket and sat on the desk for a break, handing the other beer to Kennedy. "So, has manual labor helped with the fidgets?" She took a long drink of her beer.

Kennedy shrugged and popped the top of her beer. "Sort of." She smiled and got a far away look in her eyes for a moment. "Willow's helped too."

Faith's face soured. "Too much info, Slick."

Kennedy scowled and took a sip of her beer. "You're just jealous."

"How's that?" Faith asked, taking a long drink again.

Kennedy took the cigarette from Faith and took a drag before handing it back. "Faith, you don't have to keep denying the fact that you're in love with Buffy. You can tell me."

Faith took a long drink of her beer and threw the empty bottle into the dumpster below and she flicked her cigarette out as well. "Look, Ken, I don't know why you can't just let that shit go, but I suggest you do and in a hurry. Nothing has ever happened between me and B and nothing ever will."

Kennedy rolled her eyes. "If it was up to her it would."

Faith looked up quickly and studied the younger slayer for a moment. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Kennedy looked at Faith long and hard. "Faith, she's in love with you and the fact that you seem to be the only person in existence that can't see that leads me to believe that you are a lot more dense than I originally thought. Anyone with eyes can see it." She paused. "Shit, the bringers could probably see it and we all know how well they see."

Faith turned away from the younger slayer and pretended to break down a desk. She didn't want Kennedy to see how her statement affected her. "You're seeing things, Ken. Leave it alone."

Kennedy heard something in her friend's voice that she couldn't place, so she let it drop and the two continued to work on the top floor of the dorm.

Section five:

The next few weeks were spent cleaning and making lists. It seemed as though they had massive orders arriving everyday of couches, tables, tools, doors and just about anything else you can think of. The gang spent most of their time working on the dorm rooms. The focused most of their energy on the top floor so they could move in quickly and once they had the top floor ready enough, they checked out of the hotel and moved in.

Giles had set up accounts for all of them with the council funds and Willow, Buffy and Xander and even Faith had even been paid for the past years of service to the Council. They all had more money than they knew what to do with and they would be getting a salary on top of that.

They all decided to go out and do some shopping at the mall down the street from the campus. They all walked into the mall and Andrew and Giles almost immediately split off from the rest of the group. Kennedy, Xander and Faith and Willow wandered around, picking out various goodies to make life a bit more enjoyable. The four of them spent a lot of time in the electronics store picking out cd's and DVD's along with new stereos, TV's and they went in together on a big screen TV for the common room and they picked up all the latest video game consoles as well.

They spent considerably less time in the home furnishing store and Faith and Willow decided to pick out some things for Buffy and Dawn's rooms that would do for the time being until the sisters could get out and do some shopping on their own.

Faith had never been a big fan of shopping, but something about this shopping trip was different. She had never had her own room before. She'd never had her own space to do with what she wanted. This was an opportunity for her to make the space what she wanted it. She had already ordered a king sized bed for her room and she knew she wanted the room to be really comfortable and really warm. She wanted a place that she could look forward to coming home to every night.

Section six:

Faith and Kennedy took a day outside with Xander to try to plan out the best places on the campus to set up the training areas around campus. They knew they wanted an archery range, an obstacle course, a running path, and something along the lines of a capture the flag course. The two slayers went out and marked a path for the girls to go jogging and they found a wide-open space big enough for the obstacle course as well.

Willow stood on the roof of the building and watched the three from above. She was putting together a few large porch swings on the roof that they could use on nice nights if they wanted to grill out or just to hang out when there was a pretty sunset. She had taken a break and was watching her girlfriend and Faith goof off. She still couldn't get over the change in Faith since they had beaten the First. It was like a completely different person. She knew that Faith and Kennedy spent a lot of time together slaying and just hanging out and she was really glad that Faith had found a friend in her. She knew that they were really close and she hoped that relationship would help Faith get over the past and stay with them even if times got tough.

Section seven:

Faith leaned in the door to Kennedy's room and watched as the younger slayer brushed her hair out. "Hey, Kid."

She smiled and turned to the other slayer. "Hey, Faith. What's up?"

Faith sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Wanna go for a run? I can't seem to sit still."

Kennedy smirked. "That's cause Buffy's gonna be home in a few days."

Faith just shook her head and turned around without another word. Kennedy rolled her eyes and ran after her, grabbing her arm but pulling back as Faith took a swing. "Hey, easy," Kennedy told her with a shove.

Faith just shook her head and turned back around. She continued out of the upper level dorms and headed down the elevator and out the building.

The slayer stretched a minute and took off running, still not fully understanding why Kennedy got under her skin with the whole Buffy thing. She turned slightly when she heard footfalls behind her and saw Kennedy running to catch up.

"Faith, wait. I'm sorry," she called out as she ran.

Against her better judgment she did, in fact, slow down until Kennedy caught up to her. The two slayers slowed to a walk and Faith ran a frustrated hand through her hair.

"I'm terrified," Faith told her softly.

Kennedy looked up, not sure she heard Faith correctly. Faith looked up and shrugged dejectedly. "Why?"

The older slayer's lips pursed and she kept her eyes on the ground as they walked. "I fell in love with Buffy back then. The moment we met, I knew there was something about her." Faith paused and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "There was one night that she almost let me believe she felt the same way."

Kennedy was suddenly very interested. "Really?"

Faith smiled at the tone in Kennedy's voice. "The next night I killed Finch and effectively killed the mood."

Kennedy gave a quick nod to let Faith she knew the story. "She's forgiven you for that."

Faith let out a bark of laughter. "Not a damn chance."

Kennedy nodded her head. "She has. At least that's what Will told me."

Faith stopped in her tracks. "Wait, hold up." She grabbed Kennedy's arm and pulled her to a stop. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Buffy told Willow that she forgives you," Kennedy told her with a smile, trying to gauge Faith's reaction.

Faith looked hopeful for a moment before her face fell and she ran a hand through her hair. "Well, as credible as your source may be, I can't believe it until I hear it from her."

Kennedy nodded silently and shoved Faith a bit, upping her pace to a jog. Faith grinned and thanked whoever was listening that Kennedy had at least enough sense to know when to drop the subject. The two slayers ran the entire trail before returning to Slayer Central to shower and hang out with the gang.

Section eight:

Willow's titanium rings arrived the next afternoon and Faith and Kennedy helped take each ring from its box and set them all out on the table.

"I'm surprised you're not trying to race me with this," Faith joked with a wink as she placed another ring on the table.

"Willow will probably kill me if we end up having a brawl in the middle of her rings," Kennedy replied with a smile.

Faith rolled her eyes. "What makes you think we'll have a brawl if we race to see who can open more rings?"

"Well, maybe because everything we start as a race ends as a wrestling match," she told her with a smile, thinking back to one particularly painful fight they'd gotten into a week ago.

Faith rolled her shoulder, still sore as a result of that fight. "So ya wanna go out tonight?"

Kennedy gave her a funny look. "Don't we go out every night?"

Faith shrugged. "Yeah, I just wasn't sure if you wanted to go out and drink or go out and slay."

Kennedy suddenly gave her a wicked smile. "Doesn't matter to me really. Either way I come home with a wicked case of h and h."

Faith's face soured. "Way too much info, Slick."

Kennedy laughed and threw an empty ring box at the other slayer. That was enough to spark a box throwing fight between the two of them until Willow had them each by an ear to get them to quit.

"Ya know, it's really not fair when you can inject yourself with slayer power, Red," Faith told her with a scowl.

"Yeah, baby, it's kinda hot when we do that thing we do sometimes, but this isn't so hot," Kennedy whined.

Faith gave them both a grin, which caused Kennedy to blush and Willow to pinch their ears a bit tighter, causing both slayers to yelp.

"Kinky threesome action?" Xander suddenly called out from behind.

Willow rolled her eyes and released the slayers and all three girls turned and gave him a look.

He backed up a step and held his hands up in a peaceful gesture. "Hey, can't blame a guy for dreaming."

Willow turned back to the slayers and pointed at the mess they'd made. "You two clean this up. I have to talk to Xander a minute before I do the spell."

The slayers at least had enough decency to look a bit guilty and they both gave her angelic smiles as she turned to talk to her oldest friend.

"See, even when we don't race it ends in a fight," Kennedy told her with a grin.

Faith laughed and shook her head. "So tell me about the thing with Red and the slayer strength."

Kennedy gave her a simply evil grin and looked around to make sure they were alone before she dished all to her new best friend. Faith was glad for once that Kennedy had the decency to not drop the subject.

When Willow was done with the spell, they each grabbed the rings and began putting them all back in their boxes for the girl's arrivals. Faith grabbed her ring and slid it on her finger before grabbing a box for Buffy and sliding it in her pocket.

"See you two later," Faith called out as she gave Willow a knowing smile as she left the room.

Willow turned and glared at her girlfriend. "What did you say to her?"

Kennedy got wide eyed and held up her hands, backing up a step like Xander had earlier. "I didn't say a word about anything."

Section nine:

Faith and Kennedy came in from slaying the next night and found Willow and Xander playing cards. Willow gave her girlfriend a tender smile when the two of them came in and Kennedy approached her for a kiss. "Hey, you guys wanna go out tonight?" Faith asked as she headed for her room to drop off her bag.

Willow and Xander exchanged a look and a nod. "Sure," Willow replied. "What time?"

Faith glanced at the wall clock and shrugged. "Eleven?"

As soon as she got a yes from everyone she first grabbed a beer from the fridge and then made her way to her bathroom and to the shower. She left her bathroom door open and turned up the techno music on her stereo so she could hear it in the shower.

"Faith, can I borrow something to wear?" Kennedy called out over the shower and the music as she entered the Faith's bathroom.

"Sure," Faith called back as she took a sip of her beer.

Kennedy grinned at her friend drinking a beer in the shower and moved to Faith's closet. Once she found something hot to wear, she headed back to her room to change. She returned to Faith's bathroom a few minutes later to do her make up. Faith and Buffy had lucked out and gotten the room with the best bathroom. It was by far the biggest and the counter tops were long enough and wide enough to sit on and the girls frequently sat on the counter before going out to do their make up. The only thing Faith thought Buffy might be weird about was the door on the shower. The shower itself was in the corner of the bathroom and the walls stood to just about under Faith's shoulders. The door on the shower was frosted glass and if you looked hard enough, you could kinda see through it. Faith just hoped Buffy had removed the stick up her ass enough that they could both use the shower and not get weird.

"You ready for tomorrow?" Kennedy asked once Faith shut off the shower.

Faith took a deep breath and peered over the shower wall. She rested her arms over the side and rested her chin on the edge of the tile wall. "To be honest, I think I'm just ready for it to be over."

Kennedy nodded her head and fished through Faith's make up bag for her eyeliner. "I can understand that. I think you guys will be fine."

Faith shrugged and grabbed her beer. She finished it in one long gulp and placed the empty bottle on the edge of the shower. She opened her mouth to speak, but Willow knocked on the door and interrupted.

"Ken? Faith?" she called out as she pushed the door open a bit more. She paused and grinned a bit when she saw Faith still in the shower and her girlfriend looking hot. "It's a good thing I'm not the jealous type."

The two slayers glanced at each other and shared a look of mild disgust. "Way off on that one, baby."

"Yeah, Red," Faith told her with a shake of her head. She gabbed her towel and wrapped up before swinging the door open and stepping out of the shower. "Besides, I'm pretty sure you'd have my head…either that or turn me into a frog."

Willow stuck her tongue out and Kennedy looked grossed out. "Plus it would totally be like incest or something."

Faith shrugged and jutted a thumb towards the younger slayer. "That too."

Willow looked from one slayer to the other and shrugged. "At least you're getting along."

Faith gave her a strange look. "Was there ever a question that we wouldn't?"

Willow gave her a pointed look. "Slayers, up until this point anyways, haven't had the best history in getting along."

Faith opened her mouth to retort, but realized the witch was right and shut it quickly. Not liking the smug grin on Willow's face, she pointed for the door and ushered both girls out. "Out. At least let me dress in peace."

An hour later, the gang entered the club and Xander grinned widely. He could see everything to his left and he had never felt better. Faith felt her tension and nerves slip away as she let the music envelop her. She shared a grin with Kennedy and pointed to the bar. The younger slayer nodded and followed along as Willow and Xander secured a table. Faith ordered shots and drinks for all of them and it took all kinds of slayer balance to get all the drinks back to the table without being spilled.

The four of them clinked their shot glasses together and tossed their heads back with the lemon drop shots Faith had ordered. Willow's face soured and she shook her head as she placed the shot glass on the table. Kennedy grinned and leaned over to kiss her soundly.

"You guys dancing?" Faith asked with a grin and a thumb over her shoulder.

Willow and Xander both shook their heads. "I think I'm just gonna people watch…with both my eyes," he told them with a grin and a wink with his new eye.

Willow shrugged and pointed at the table. "Yeah, I'm just gonna stay here and sit for a few songs."

Faith glanced at Kennedy and had to laugh when the younger slayer looked ready to go. Faith reached out and grabbed Kennedy by the belt buckle and pulled her close. She slung an arm over the younger slayer's shoulders as they made their way to the dance floor.

Faith made a quick stop at the bar before they started dancing and ordered another mixed drink and gulped it down before they began to dance.

Kennedy kept a close eye on Faith as they danced. There was a cute blonde girl walking around with little test tubes of shots and Faith drank at least four within the first hour they were at the club.

An hour into dancing, Kennedy wanted to take a break to check on Willow and Xander, but Faith was having none of it. The older slayer nudged her in the direction of the rest of their friends and Kennedy left, promising to return in a moment.

"You guys should come dance," Kennedy told them as she snagged a drink of Willow's water. "Faith is drinking herself stupid and it should be fun to drag her drunk ass out of here in about an hour."

Willow's brow furrowed and she frowned. "She has been drinking a lot over the last few days. Is she okay? I thought she was doing better."

Kennedy shrugged, knowing exactly why Faith was kind of a mess, but refusing to share with anyone since Faith made her promise not to. "She's just having fun before the girls all arrive and we have to be responsible adults."

Xander looked up and frowned. "Wait, Giles never said anything about us being responsible…or adults. I demand a recount of the vote that put him in charge."

"There was no vote," Willow replied dryly.

"Well, can we impeach?" he asked with a silly grin.

Kennedy grinned and looked back over her shoulder. Something caught her eye and she felt her panic rise suddenly. "Shit!" she called out and took off towards the dance floor. Xander and Willow exchanged a look and both followed after her.

"Look, if you didn't want the attention, why dress like a slut and dance like you want it?" they heard the guys standing way too close to Faith.

"I told you, asshole, I just want to dance with my girl. You need to back the hell off and leave me the hell alone," she told him with a nasty sneer looking ready to kick his ass.

"What girl?" he asked. "You have some invisible girlfriend that you're dancing with? You know you're just shaking that ass for us." He turned and gave his buddy a high five before turning around and smirking.

Kennedy suddenly snuggled up behind her and wrapped her arms around her. "Hey, baby, did ya miss me?"

Faith turned and smiled, wrapping her arms around Kennedy and leaning her forehead against the younger girl's. "You just saved that guy's balls and he doesn't even know it."

Kennedy tried really hard to bite back a grin, but it failed. "You ready to get home?"

Faith leaned in a kissed her quickly on the lips. "So ready."

The guys were left slack jawed on the dance floor and both girls laughed as they followed Willow and Xander from the club.

"Now I'm really glad you're not the jealous type, Red. But it had to be done," Faith told her with a smile as she lit a cigarette for the walk home. She wobbled a little bit and Kennedy reached out to steady her. Faith shoved away for a moment, but Kennedy slid an arm around her waist and held on to her belt just to be sure the older slayer wouldn't be sprawled out all over the sidewalk.

"I know I have nothing to worry about," Willow replied with a grin, winking at her girlfriend.

"Never," Kennedy replied as she leaned in for a quick kiss.

Willow smiled wider and grasped her girlfriend's hand lightly. Faith slapped at Kennedy's hands and the younger slayer let go, falling back a bit from Xander and Faith, who were chatting about something up ahead. "You really think Faith is okay?"

Kennedy nodded her head and lifted Willow's hand to her lips for a kiss. "She'll be fine. Don't worry."

Willow knew Kennedy knew something, but wasn't telling so she let it go as they approached Slayer Central.

Faith decided that she didn't have enough to drink at the bar and she opened a beer as soon as they arrived home. She handed one to the other three people in the room. "You guys wanna play cards?"

Willow was about to decline, she was tired and wanted to go to bed with her girlfriend, who was looking really hot, but when she looked at Kennedy she saw something in her eyes begging her to stay and play cards with Faith. She nodded her head and sat at the table. Xander looked around and shrugged, grabbing his beer and sitting down for some cards with the girls.

The game only lasted about an hour before Faith fell out of her chair in a drunken stupor. Willow and Xander fussed over her, but Kennedy told them both she would take care of it. She pulled Faith off the floor and helped her into her bedroom. Faith fell face first into the bed and Kennedy rolled her eyes and at least tried to get the other girl's boots off before she passed out.

"I'm not ready, Ken," Faith slurred out quietly.

Kennedy rolled her over and stood up. She moved to the other side of the room and grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge and handed it to Faith. "Ready or not, she's coming home."

Faith rolled the bottle in her hands a few times before opening it and taking a few sips. "What if she used her vacation to think of all the reasons she used to hate me?"

Kennedy shook her head and pulled a blanket up over the other girl and she sat on the edge of the bed next to her friend. "Faith, she never hated you."

"Yes she did," Faith argued back with a pout.

Kennedy bit back a giggle; Faith's pout was the second cutest pout she'd ever seen. "No, she didn't. Look, just get some rest. This will all seem better in the morning."

Faith nodded and closed her eyes, still gripping her water bottle to her chest. A few moments later Kennedy heard a faint snore letting her know that Faith had finally passed out. She stood from the bed and made her way to her own room, noticing the card game had been abandoned and the other two players had gone to bed.

When she opened her door, she saw Willow sitting up in bed watching the news. The redhead smiled when she entered the room and Kennedy leaned in for a quick kiss.

"Is Faith okay?" Willow asked, putting the news on mute.

Kennedy nodded and removed her boots. "She's passed out. She'll have one hell of a hangover tomorrow though."

Willow frowned. "I hope she's okay by the time we pick up Buffy and Dawn from the airport. I don't want Buffy to worry that Faith hasn't been okay since we've been here."

Kennedy frowned and began undressing. "I thought you told her that Faith's been doing really well."

Willow nodded. "I have been. The last few days have just been really weird. Faith seems to be getting more and more withdrawn and weird."

Kennedy shook her head and crawled into bed. "Baby, I can promise you that she's fine. She's just worried that Buffy spent her vacation coming up with reasons to hate her all over again."

Willow frowned again. "Buffy never hated her. They just didn't get along…at all. She never hated her."

Kennedy nodded. "I know. That's what you told me and that's what I told Faith. She's fine, just a little nervous. Those two have a history of not really getting along and Faith is really enjoying things here and now and she hopes that continues."

Willow smiled and kissed the younger girl tenderly. "I think you've had a lot to do with Faith being happy these days. I think she really feels like this is the way she and Buffy were supposed to have gotten along back then."

Kennedy smirked. "I don't think this is how Faith wanted them to get along, but I do think she wanted the two of them to get along better than they did."

Willow gave her a questioning look and shook her head. "If you say so."

Kennedy grinned. "Oh, does that mean I'm in charge tonight?"

Willow smiled and reached over to hit the lights, knowing having Kennedy in charge was going to have her in for a long night.

Section ten:

Kennedy woke early when she heard the door to the roof access close behind someone and she was willing to bet that it was Faith up earlier than anyone. She rolled over and kissed Willow softly on the temple before rolling out of bed. She pulled a hoodie over her tank before padding out of the room. She headed for the exit once she had a cup of coffee in her hands and wasn't at all surprised to see Faith sipping a beer on the swing.

"It's early," Kennedy noted quietly as she took a seat next to the other slayer and lit a cigarette. "How's the hangover?"

Faith shrugged and sighed heavily. "Today's the day. The hangover kinda pales in comparison."

Kennedy smoked quietly for a few moments and she handed over her cup of coffee once Faith finished her beer. "I really don't think you have anything to worry about, Faith."

"You keep saying that shit," Faith mumbled as she took a sip of coffee. She tried to hand it back to Kennedy, but the younger girl just smiled.

"I made it for you," she told her with a wave of her hand. "I thought you might need it after your beer."

Faith gave her a cautious look. "How did you know I even had a beer?"

Kennedy smiled. "I heard the fridge door open and you pop the top off the bottle. Slayer hearing kinda sucks when you wanna sleep in."

Faith gave her a grin and sipped the coffee some more. She was actually touched that someone knew her well enough to know how she took her coffee and she was even more touched that someone would think of her enough to make her coffee. "Why is it that you won't shut up about this me and B thing anyways?"

Kennedy shrugged and leaned back to rest her head against the back of the swing. "It just seems like it was meant to be. The chosen two. There's not really a whole lot that can take that away from you guys."

"The chosen two didn't mean that much to her back then," Faith told her quietly.

"Things are different now," Kennedy replied with a shrug. "You two are the last chosen." Kennedy paused for a moment and let her statement sink in. "We were made, you were chosen and that's special."

Faith took a minute to really digest what her friend was telling her and she shook her head. "Damn, kid, I never thought of it that way."

Kennedy rolled her eyes and nudged her a bit. "That's what I'm here for. I'm the brains of this duo."

Faith shook her head and shoved her back. "If you're the brains, I am so the beauty."

Kennedy rolled her eyes again and stood up, pulling Faith with her. She flicked her smoke out and headed for the door. "Come on, Faith, their flight lands in two hours. We have to get you all pretty like."

"Kiddo, you don't have to do a damn thing to get me pretty," Faith told her with a grin. "What you see is what you get, and what you get is hot!"

Section eleven

Faith felt butterflies in her stomach as they gang waited for the Summers girls to get off the plane. They stood in a small group near the baggage claim and waited. They all hear a shriek and Dawn came flying through the crowd and attached herself to Willow in a huge hug. Faith felt her heart speed up a bit when Buffy emerged from the crowd, her skin with more of a tan than when she left. Buffy hugged Giles and Willow and Xander and even Kennedy before turning to Faith and hugging her a bit longer and a bit tighter than everyone else.

"I really missed you, Faith," she whispered softly in Faith's ear.

Faith smiled and felt her stomach tense a bit. "Missed you too, B."

The slayers parted for a moment and locked gazes, both smiling and Buffy reached out to squeeze one of Faith's hands. They stood for a few long moments just staring at each other until everyone all started talking at once and they were ushered off to get bags and go home.

The gang talked non-stop on the way back to Slayer Central. Faith, Kennedy, Willow, Xander and Giles went on and on about the new school and Buffy and Dawn told them all about France, Italy and Spain as they drove the distance from the airport to the school.

Once they arrived at Slayer Central the gang pulled Dawn and Buffy from place to place, showing them around and talking non-stop. The sisters could tell everyone was really excited and proud about the work they'd done. Buffy noticed Faith stayed relatively quiet, but she could see something in the other slayer's demeanor that she had never really seen before. Faith seemed really nervous and happy and content and Buffy could see a swell of pride every time someone mentioned something that she'd been a part of doing.

Once they were upstairs Buffy and Dawn made a grand gesture of handing out souvenirs to everyone. They'd brought back candy and chocolate and tee shirts and all the other classic gifts. They'd brought back more personalized items for everyone as well and when Faith didn't get one, she slipped quietly from the room so nobody would see how upset she was about it.

She sat on the windowsill and pulled out a smoke as she wiped the tears from her eyes. She didn't understand why she was getting so upset over not getting a stupid gift. She'd never gotten a thing from anyone in her life and she couldn't figure out why she expected this time to be different.

A knock on the door pulled her from her thoughts and she quickly wiped her eyes. "Come in."

The door opened a bit and Buffy peeked her head in with a smile. "Can I come in?"

Faith smiled and nodded. "Yeah, B. Of course."

Buffy wandered in and looked around, taking in the décor of Faith's room. She instantly felt very comforted and warm and relaxed in the room and she wandered in, taking a seat across from Faith in the window. "I like the room."

Faith gave her a smile and looked around. "Yeah. I've never decorated my own room before. I think I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It's nice to have my own space."

Buffy smiled and fished into her pocket. She pulled out a black velvet box and held it out to the other girl.

Faith took it slowly and watched as Buffy plucked a cigarette out of the pack sitting between them. "What's this?"

Buffy looked up. "I picked it up in Italy. I thought it was beautiful and I thought it would look beautiful on you."

Both girls blushed and Faith ducked her head as Buffy busied herself lighting the cigarette in her hand. "You smoke now?" Faith asked her, still holding the box.

She shrugged. "Everyone does in Europe. Just something I picked up."

Faith nodded thoughtfully and slowly opened the box in her hands. Inside was a beautiful white gold cross with a diamond in the center. She felt tears threaten again as she picked the cross up to examine it. On the back she noticed it had been engraved. 'The Chosen Two Forever, B.'

"This is too much, B." Faith held up the cross and shook her head.

Buffy shrugged. "I hope you don't mean that cause I got you something else too." Buffy got up and went to her room through the bathroom and came back a moment later with a bigger box.

Faith shook her head and smiled, feeling like an ass for getting so upset earlier about not getting any presents. She slid the top of the box off and inside was a very ornate dagger. It was sturdy and had a stainless steel handle that was engraved the same as the cross was.

"Thanks, B. This is beautiful," she whispered, afraid to trust her voice fully.

Buffy studied her for a moment. "Faith, are you okay?"

The other slayer nodded her head and hid her face with a curtain of hair as she lit another cigarette and kept her gaze to the night outside. "I've never gotten a souvenir before."

Buffy felt her heart constrict and she instinctively moved closer to Faith and wrapped her arms around her. Her senses were suddenly assaulted with everything Faith. From the fruity shampoo she used, to the smell of smoke, to the perfume she wore and she felt her stomach flip and her pulse quicken.

Faith froze for a moment when Buffy hugged her. Her first instinct was to tense up and pull away, but she held off for a moment and once panic dissolved away, it was replaced with a warmth she'd never felt before and she felt herself reach out and hug Buffy back. She felt Buffy's heart beating against her chest and she heard the hitch in the older slayer's breathing and for one second she felt like what Kennedy had been saying all along might actually be true. That thought was fleeting, however, and it was replaced with the sound of her mother's voice telling her that she would never really be loved by anyone. That thought was enough to bring her back to reality and she let the thoughts of Buffy go. She held on to the other slayer for a moment and they pulled away and were left with a moment of awkward silence until Faith snapped her fingers.

"I almost forgot. I have something for you too," Faith told her as she hopped of the sill and reached into her coat pocket. She pulled out the box for the ring Willow had blessed with her protection magic and she held it out to Buffy.

"Proposing so soon, Faith? But we've only just met," Buffy joked with a wink.

Faith rolled her eyes and handed the box over. "Not quite, B. Red did some super protection mojo on all these rings and we all get one. They're also gonna be the key to the gym, cafeteria after hours and the dorms so the kids don't have to keep up with actual keys or key cards or some crap that they'll just end up losing."

Buffy looked impressed and she pulled the ring from the box, slipping it on the ring finger of her right hand, noticing Faith had hers on the same finger as well.

"Nifty. Whose idea was that?" she asked as she admired her new jewelry.

Faith shrugged and looked down at her hands. "Well, Red wanted to do the mojo thing, but it was my idea to make them all keys."

Buffy gave her a lopsided grin. "That was good thinking."

Faith shrugged and watched as Buffy pulled another cigarette out of the pack, offering her one. She nodded and took it, getting up to grab a beer from the mini fridge under the desk in her room. "Want one?"

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, thanks." She watched as Faith popped the tops of the two drinks and handed her one before pulling the Zippo from her pocket and lighting their smokes.

"Any idea who made up my room?" Buffy asked once they were settled again.

"I did," Faith replied looking a bit worried. "We didn't want you and D to get back and not have sheets on your bed or something like that so we just got you both white stuff and made them up so you could have something for the time being."

Buffy gave her a heartbreaking smile. "That was really sweet of you. Thanks."

Faith shrugged it off, torn between hating and loving all the attention she was getting from the other slayer. Things had never been this easy between the two of them and she wasn't sure how to handle it.

Section twelve

Xander poked his head around the corner at Slayer Central and gave the girls a smile. "Hey, the obstacle course stuff is here guys, wanna come down and help while they put it up?"

The slayers all jumped up, anxious for something to do and Willow followed behind them, jogging a bit to keep up.

They spent the next few hours overseeing and helping put everything together for the massive obstacle course they got to train the girls with. It spanned nearly a mile, curving up one side of the yard and doubling back through a trench.

Buffy looked up from her work a few hours after the course had arrived just to see how the rest of the gang was doing. Xander was unrolling a set of plans that she assumed was the instruction sheet to this giant course. He smiled at Dawn as she and Willow walked by after untangling the ropes for the rope wall and Buffy smiled as the three of them chatted for a moment before laughing about something only the three of them could hear.

Her breath caught in her chest a moment later when the two brunette slayers approached from further down the hill. Faith and Kennedy were each lugging a giant log up the hill and Buffy had to remind herself to breathe when she took in the sight of Faith. The dark slayer was wearing work out pants and a sleeveless gray shirt and had her hair pulled back. A light sheen of sweat covered her skin and had soaked through the neckline of her shirt. Her lips parted as she exhaled a heavy breath and she lifted the hem of her shirt to wipe the sweat from her brow, exposing her taught, tan, glistening belly. Buffy felt her stomach flip flop and her mouth go dry, but those feelings were replaced by mortification when she realized that Kennedy was watching her drool over Faith.

Buffy rolled her eyes and gave the younger girl an expectant look. "What, Kennedy?"

Kennedy smiled and shook her head, an amused glint in her eye. "She's hot. I don't blame you for checkin' her out."

Buffy shot her an irritated glance. "I wasn't checking her out. I just happened to be looking that way when she flashed everyone."

Kennedy nodded. "Right." She pointed to Buffy's face. "You still have a little drool on your chin."

Before Buffy could respond, she shook her head and began walking away. "My gaydar is a bit more advanced than everyone else's here, so you're gonna have a much harder time trying to convince me you're not into her."

Buffy opened her mouth to deny, deny, deny, but she realized that Kennedy was right. She knew her feelings were all over her face and she really couldn't deny them any longer. "Just keep this to yourself for now."

Kennedy's eyes went wide for a second. She wasn't expecting Buffy to admit to anything…ever.

Well, that's what I have for now. Sorry about the massive amounts of time between the updates, I've been working on a few other stories and some original stuff so a lot's been going on. Let me know what you thought about this chapter and thanks for reading! Til next time!!


	4. Here we have fun and fight

A.N. It's been forever and I'm sorry…but here's more…I'm still working on this and a million other things so please don't give up on me or this little tale of mine. Thanks for the reviews!!

P

"Ya know, you would think this place would be a bit livelier now that Sunnydale's Hellmouth is long gone. This place is really dead," Faith noted as she twirled her stake.

Buffy shrugged as they walked along. "Maybe the commute here is taking them longer than usual. You have to remember that vamps can only move at night unless they're underground."

Faith nodded. "True. I just hope things pick up a bit."

Kennedy scowled. "You and me both. You'd think the demons would be all ready by now to hatch new plans to take over the world with a brand spankin' new Hellmouth to play in."

Faith shoved her and grinned. "You're just pissy cause you haven't had enough to slay to cure the twitches."

Kennedy grinned and nodded. "Hell yeah I am."

Buffy smiled as the two brunettes continued back and forth until she grabbed Faith's arm to get her to stop. Up ahead there were four huge, slimy demons raiding a mausoleum. The girls stopped and worked out a quick plan before they attacked and caught the demons by surprise.

The girls fought for a few minutes and Buffy disposed of her demon first, noticing that Kennedy was struggling a bit with hers and she jumped in to help. A minute later they had the second demon gone and that's when they heard a yelp behind them. Buffy's heart stopped for a moment when she turned and saw Faith clutching her stomach as the other two demons fled from the mausoleum before the slayers could get them too.

Buffy felt panic rise inside her and she had to force it down so she could get Faith out of this alive. She leaned down to Faith and wiped some of her hair away from her already pale, sweaty face. "Faith, are you okay?"

Faith shook her head slowly and winced. "I dunno, B. He got me good."

Buffy glanced down at the wound Faith's hand was hiding and she placed a hand over Faith's. "Let me see."

Faith shook her head. "I'm fine," she ground out through clenched teeth.

Buffy shook her head and looked up at Kennedy, who Buffy noticed looked almost as sick as Faith. "Call up and tell Giles that Faith is hurt and to be prepared for us."

Kennedy nodded and grabbed her cell phone from her hip and made the call quickly. She moved to Faith's other side once she had made her call and looked to Buffy for what to do.

Buffy took a deep breath and put her arms around Faith. "Let's get her up and get her home quick."

Kennedy nodded and helped get Faith to her feet…sort of to her feet anyways. Faith seemed to be getting worse every minute she was out and she seemed to be getting weaker as well. Her head rolled back a bit as the two unaffected slayers rushed her back to the dorms.

By the time they arrived, Giles had one of the Council doctors up in the dorm waiting on them and the girls immediately moved into Faith's room and set her down on the bed. Buffy was glad that someone had the foresight to strip off the sheets and put down towels on the bed. Giles moved into the room after them and immediately began asking questions about the demon. Kennedy was the only one in any shape to answer questions.

Doctor Dylan Williams began work on Faith as soon as she was on the bed. She took the necessary vital signs and listened to everything that the slayers were saying about Faith's condition before doing what she could to help Faith.

"Buffy, I need to you help me with Faith's shirt. It needs to come off," Dylan told her with a glance back to Kennedy and Giles.

Giles nodded and placed a hand on the youngest slayer's shoulder. She looked up at him and he gave a slight nod of his head towards the door. "She'll be fine, Kennedy."

Kennedy nodded slowly and glanced sadly at Faith again before turning and leaving the room. Giles shut the door behind them so Faith would have the privacy she deserved. He turned and smiled when he saw that Willow, Xander and Dawn were already knee deep in research materials.

Inside the room, Buffy and Dylan had just removed Faith's blood soaked shirt and the doctor was inspecting the wound that Faith had sustained. Dylan looked up and nodded towards her supplies. "Buffy, grab me that IV please."

Buffy nodded and turned, noticing a long pole with wheels at the bottom that had an IV attached to it. She wheeled it over and Dylan began working on getting the fluids into the sick slayer. She then proceeded to stitch the wound on Faith's belly and a minute later she stood up. Before she left she showed Buffy how to change the IV and gave her instructions on how to care for her.

Buffy walked Dylan out of the room and made sure she had an escort to her car before returning to Faith's room. She smiled a bit when she saw Kennedy looking in on her. She wrapped an arm around Kennedy's shoulders and the other girl looked up in surprise.

"She'll be fine, Kennedy. Faith has been through worse," Buffy told her quietly.

The younger girl dropped her head and swiped angrily at a stray tear. "I know. I just worry about her."

"I know you do," Buffy replied softly. "I'll stay with her and you guys make sure that you find whatever this is so we can get her better. Okay?"

Kennedy nodded and gave the older slayer a small smile when she squeezed her shoulders again. Buffy moved into the room and sat next to Faith on the bed and kept an eye on her.

Faith seemed to get worse as the minutes wore on and Buffy felt her chest constrict every time Faith would whimper or shake. She reached down and wiped the sweat soaked hair from Faith's forehead. She leaned down and kissed her temple and moved to the bathroom to wet a washcloth with cold water so she could wipe her head.

P

About an hour later, there was a light knock on the door and Dawn peeked her head in. "Buffy, I think we have it."

Buffy nodded and reluctantly followed her sister from the room. She met the rest of the gang with grim faces and sat down at the table praying they would have the answer. Kennedy held up a book and raised an eyebrow. "This is it, isn't it?"

Buffy studied the picture for a moment and nodded her head, raising her eyes to Kennedy's. "Ready to seek and destroy?"

Willow held up a hand. "Well, Buff, you should definitely take part in some seekage, but if you destroy, you need to be sure to bring back its claws. The claws have the cure to Faith's illness."

"Any claw from any one of these will cure Faith?" Buffy asked hopefully.

"Extremely hostile, known pillagers, they mate for life," Dawn read out loud. "It says here that if one is killed, their mate will basically fight to the death with whatever killed them." She looked up with wide eyes and as if on cue they heard a bellowing downstairs and a crash.

The next few moments were chaotic at best. The slayers jumped up and began running towards the steps yelling at the others to hide and run and look out, Willow began chanting under her breath, Andrew leapt up and began muttering about his anti-demon force fields and Giles grabbed his book and held it to his chest protectively. Dawn simply leaned back in her chair and watched everyone move. Not even ten minutes later the slayers were back upstairs with goop covered claws, handing them to Willow so she could make the anti-venom for Faith.

Willow emerged from the spare room they'd made into a lab of sorts holding a vile of bright purple liquid in her hand. She handed it over to Buffy and the slayer made her way towards Faith. When she entered the room she noticed that Faith was shaking pretty violently and her sweat soaked hair clung to her face. Buffy felt her heart break, knowing that Faith was in pain and terribly sick.

She moved to the edge of the bed and managed to rouse the slayer from her fitful sleep.

"B?" she mumbled groggily.

Buffy smiled fondly and ran a hand over her hair. "Hey you. I need you to sit up so you can drink this. It's gonna make you feel all better."

Faith nodded and struggled to sit up, even with Buffy's help. Once she was in a seated position, she watched as Buffy brought the vile to her mouth and helped her drink the entire contents. The smell alone was enough to tell Buffy how bad it must have tasted, so Buffy knew Faith was desperate if she was drinking it. The brunette slayer reclined back into bed and they both waited a few minutes to see what would happen next.

"Can you tell a difference?" she asked softly.

Faith nodded slowly. "Well I don't feel like I'm gonna die anymore so that's a plus."

Buffy smiled and ran a hand over her hair again. "Can I get you a soda or something to get that taste out of your mouth?"

Faith nodded and sat up again. Buffy handed her a coke from the mini fridge and watched as Faith took small sips of the drink. She rested back on the bed and had to admit it was nice the way Buffy ran a hand over her head to smooth back her hair. She wasn't exactly used to anyone taking care of her and it was something she could get used to. She suddenly reached over and pulled the IV from her hand, wincing as she did so. "I was really getting tired of that thing. Can we go smoke?"

Buffy smiled and shook her head. "Faith, Kennedy and I had to carry you back here because you were so sick and now you wanna smoke?"

She shrugged. "Smoking always settles my stomach."

Buffy thought a minute and shrugged herself. "Well, if you really feel you're up to it. I know the gang is anxious to see how you're feeling."

Faith grinned at getting her way and reached a hand out and placed it on Buffy's arm, silently asking for some help getting up. Buffy didn't say a word as she placed a one hand on Faith's arm and the other rested lightly on her back as the dark slayer stood up.

Faith barely made it out of her room before a dark force swept in and nearly knocked her over. She laughed and hugged Kennedy back until the younger girl leaned back and fixed her with a murderous glare. "If you ever scare me like that again, I'll kill you myself."

Faith smirked and waved a hand at her. "Risking our lives is kinda the name of the game, kid."

Kennedy frowned. "You really had me worried."

Faith's face fell and she leaned in and pulled the younger girl close. They could all hear that Faith was talking very quietly to her, but none could tell what she was actually saying. Buffy deliberately put her fingers in her ears because she knew as a slayer she'd be able to hear and she wanted their conversation to remain private. When the two girls separated everyone else fawned over Faith for a minute or two before the girls made their way to the roof.

Faith let Buffy hold her hand to help her up the steps and when the two of them got settled on the swing, Buffy lit them both a cigarette and sat back. She smiled a little when Faith leaned over and rested her head against her shoulder.

"You okay?" Buffy asked softly.

Faith shrugged a little. "Just kinda worn out."

"Maybe you should just take it easy for a few days," Buffy told her with a soft smile.

"Maybe," Faith replied.

The two sat on the roof for a bit longer before Buffy insisted Faith go back to bed for rest.

P

"So are all the teachers on board then?" Faith asked as she brought a beer to her lips and took a sip.

Giles nodded and tossed some popcorn in his mouth. "Yes, actually. Only a few of them still need to come in to sign contracts, but we'll be ready by next week."

"Is anyone else terrified?" Buffy asked as she drank from her beer and tossed a few red plastic chips to the center of the table for her bet.

Willow and Xander exchanged a look and both nodded. "Was that three, Buff?" he asked.

She nodded. "I just can't believe we're going to be in charge of all these girls. What if we can't do it?"

"We can barely take care of ourselves," Faith noted with a smile. "I put beer in my cornflakes, Ken lives on a diet of coffee and fruit rollups, X can't do his own laundry. How the hell are we gonna keep a bunch of kids in line? Slayers, no less."

"Ya know, I did a load of laundry yesterday, thank you very much," Xander told her with a grin and a wink.

"No you didn't," Buffy replied, throwing pretzels at him. "You paid Willow to do it."

He grinned and shrugged. "I got it done, didn't I?"

Giles shook his head and took a sip of his drink. He placed his cards on the table and cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention. "I know you're all scared and you have every right to be." He paused a moment. "I know that you're all overwhelmed and it's understandable because what we're doing is a rather huge undertaking. The last Council had a history that dated back centuries. To rebuild that with only a handful of people that were part of the original is terrifying for all of us." He stopped and locked gazes for a few seconds with each person at the table. "If there is anyone on Earth that can run this Council the way it was meant to be run, it's you all." He grinned. "It's us."

Faith grinned as she looked around the table and everyone was smiling as well. "I think he means we kick ass, therefore so will our new and improved Council."

They were all silent a moment until Xander raised his glass. "Here here."

A second later, the rest of the gang lifted their glasses and clinked them all together before returning to their poker game.

P

A.N. Thanks for reading guys…please review and let me know what you think. I promise I'll be better with updates…lol!


	5. Here we have a guest?

A.N. Yeah, I'm being super good lately….here's more for my favorite readers in the whole world. Thanks for the reviews guys! You're awesome. Enjoy!

P

Buffy pushed open the door to the roof access and smiled when she saw Faith sitting on the edge of the roof. Her legs were hanging off the side and she held a cigarette in her hand. A beer sat next to her left leg and Buffy watched fondly as the other slayer brought the bottle to her lips and took a long drink.

"Hey," she called out as she made her way over to the other girl.

Faith turned and smiled. "Hey, B." She turned back and continued to stare at whatever she'd been staring at before Buffy joined her on the roof.

Buffy moved closer and sat down next to Faith. "Whatcha doing up here all alone?"

Faith shrugged a shoulder and grabbed her beer again, taking a few sips. "Do you realize we're the last chosen?"

Buffy furrowed her brow and frowned a bit. "Wow, I never thought of it like that."

Faith laughed and shook her head. "Scary isn't it?"

"A little." She mused over Faith's statement a moment. "You're right…wow."

"Actually, Kennedy's right," Faith mumbled quietly.

Buffy swallowed the jealousy that was threatening to rise and smiled. "You two are really close."

Faith shrugged and glanced at Buffy, hearing something in her voice. "We hung out a lot when we first got here. She's not so bad when she's not being a brat."

Buffy grinned. "Which is when?"

Faith gave her a look. "That's not cool, she's a been really good since we got here. You weren't here to see it."

Buffy looked a bit taken aback. "Faith I was kidding."

She shrugged. "I know, just give her a chance."

Buffy nodded. "I will. For you."

Faith grinned and winked. "Good."

P

Faith was pacing through the lobby one night waiting for the pizza guy to show up. Her stomach growled loudly and she spun on her heel when she heard a snort from the door behind her. Her eyes went wide and a twinge of fear went through her veins. The taller brunette looked at her with an expectant gaze, which quickly turned to annoyance at the silence.

"Please, don't stop your mindless pacing on my account, I've only been dead for six months."

Faith was snapped out of her daze and she narrowed her eyes. "No, we stopped you. It's too soon for you to be back. You were swallowed in Sunnyhell."

"Faith, did you hit your head or something? It's me."

Faith held up a hand and backed up a step. "No, you're not gonna get to me this time. We kicked your ass once, we have help now…we can do it again." She picked up the two-way radio on her belt and hit the button. "B, it's me, we have a problem in the lobby."

"Faith, what's up?" Buffy's voice came through.

Faith kept her eyes trained on the figure before her. "I believe an old friend is back."

"Oh, so now you consider me a friend after telling me you kicked my ass in Sunnydale? Did you hit your head or something?"

Faith turned to the girl and glared at her. The two stood in silence until they heard quick footfalls approaching. Buffy and Kennedy approached and Buffy stopped dead in her tracks at the sight before her.

"Cordelia?"

The seer rolled her eyes. "Good to know someone around here still remembers me."

Buffy frowned. "You're dead."

Cordelia sighed and buffed her nails on her shirt. "Rumors of my death are…outdated." She spun around when Faith began poking her in the shoulder. "Do you really feel the need to cop a feel right here?"

Faith smiled sheepishly and backed up again. "Sorry C, I thought our good pal the First made another appearance."

Cordelia gave her a tiny smile. "Nope, I come fresh from the Powers."

Buffy's interest was piqued. "The Powers?"

"Yup, they sent me back for one last mission," she told them with a shrug.

"And that would be?" Faith asked with a raised eyebrow.

The seer shrugged. "I dunno…they're taking cryptic lessons from whoever it is that writes out all those stupid prophecies. They told me I had another shot for being their vision whore."

"So they brought you back?" Buffy asked, just to be sure.

"Yup," Cordelia replied, growing slightly bored with this conversation.

"And you don't know why?" Faith asked again.

"Nope," Cordelia replied, growing irritable.

Buffy pursed her lips. "So glad they could vague that up for us."

"That's what they do best," Faith mumbled with a shake of her head.

"We should talk to Giles," Buffy told them both, getting right down to business.

"He's still man of the hour?" Cordelia pondered, not at all surprised.

"We wouldn't have in any other way. It pays to have a know-it-all on your side…most of the time," Faith mumbled, winking at Buffy.

Cordelia noticed the way Buffy blushed at Faith's wink and waved her hand around. "Lead the way."

P

"So you actually spoke to the Powers?" Giles asked, completely flabbergasted.

Cordelia shook her head. "No. It was more like I was floating around up there and I just knew what I had to do. Next thing I knew, I was here." She glanced back at Buffy and rolled her eyes. "With, by the way, only the clothes on my back."

Buffy smiled sympathetically, remembering right after the fall of Sunnydale, none of them having anything to their names. "We can go out shopping tomorrow morning."

"Do you have any idea how long you have here?" Giles asked, getting them all on track again.

"Until Christmas eve," she replied.

Giles checked his watch. "Three months."

"So your mission involves the slayers?" Willow asked from behind the computer, finally speaking up.

Cordelia sighed and glanced behind her, where the Chosen Two were standing side by side. "Yup. The Chosen Two are my new best friends."

Faith and Buffy both took a step back. "Wait, us?" Faith asked.

"You never said it was us," Buffy told her with a frown.

"I thought it would be the baby slayers. We have enough prophecies about us, can't this stuff be about them for once?" Faith asked with a deep scowl.

Cordelia looked to Buffy and was taken aback when she saw the way Buffy was smiling fondly at Faith's scowly face. She recovered quickly and shrugged. "Sorry, girls. This one is all about you…again." When she saw the looks on both their faces she rolled her eyes. "Oh please, don't even pretend you hate being the center of attention."

Giles and Willow both smiled when the slayers at least had the decency to look embarrassed.

"We should get you settled in," Buffy told her. "You can have one of the empty apartments upstairs."

Cordelia nodded and glanced back at Giles. "We can talk more later?"

Giles nodded and stood up. "Of course. You get settled in. We'll talk tomorrow."

Cordelia allowed herself to be flanked by the slayers and led through the building. She thought it was kind of cute the way they took each side of her to keep her safe. She smiled as they pointed out various areas of the school, knowing they were all so proud of what they'd done.

"To get into the dorms you have to have a ring," Faith told her, holding her hand up to show the titanium ring, swiping it to unlock the door.

"Willow did some white magic mojo so the rings double as protective charms," Buffy told her with a shrug as they entered the dorms.

Cordelia smiled. "That was clever."

"It was Faith's idea to make them keys to get into all the buildings on campus," Buffy told her with a proud grin. "We have an extra stash upstairs so we'll get you one."

Cordelia watched from the corner of her eye as Faith blushed and Buffy smiled broadly. She was sensing something going on between the two of them and she was definitely going to get to the bottom of it.

Once Cordelia had been reintroduced to everyone and had her very own ring she followed the slayers upstairs to the roof. She watched the two of them in their routine, Buffy held Faith's beer while she lit two cigarettes and handed one to Buffy after she took her beer back. They both plunked down and exchanged a glance when they noticed Cordelia was staring at them strangely.

"What?" Buffy asked.

Cordelia shook her head and plunked into a lounge chair. "Nothing."

Faith shifted uncomfortably in her seat for a moment and took a long drink of her beer. "So look, C, I really need to apologize for your face and everything else back then." She looked up at the other brunette and sighed. "Really, I'm sorry."

Cordelia knew how hard it must have been for Faith to apologize and she stood back up and pulled the slayer from her seat. She pulled her into a hug. "Faith, that was a completely different life. We've both started new ones since then. I forgive you for all of that stuff, let's just move on." She pulled back and held the slayer at arm's length and smiled. "Okay?"

Faith had never felt so lucky to have good people around her and she nodded her head before dropping back in her seat next to Buffy on the swing. "I'll tell ya, you two have some serious good karma coming your way…not too many people would forgive me for all this shit."

Cordelia exchanged a grin with Buffy. "Oh we don't do it for the karma, honey, we do it so you'll owe us…big!"

Buffy nodded. "Yup, it's purely selfish reasons that drive our forgiveness."

Faith rolled her eyes and sighed. "You're gonna make me go shopping with you, aren't you?"

Buffy and Cordelia exchanged another smile…that was a good idea!

Faith just groaned as she listened to the two of them go on and on about dressing Faith up in lots and lots of pink. She was definitely in trouble.

P

A.N. Well? What do you think about that? Please let me know. Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it!!


	6. Here and now, we party

A.N. Now for some fun…

P

"So you guys wanna go out tonight and celebrate Queen C being back in the fold?" Faith asked as she, Kennedy and Buffy returned from patrol.

Xander, Willow, and Cordelia all shared a smile until Cordelia looked at Dawn and saw her frown. "Is there a place here like the Bronze where Dawn can get in with us?"

Dawn frowned deeper. "Only one more year then I can go to any club I want."

Faith smirked. "Well, any club that's 18 and up anyways."

Dawn stuck her tongue out and sighed. "Are there any places I can go with you guys?"

Kennedy nodded and ran a hand over Willow's hair. "We found a place last week that's 16 and up. It's not bad. We could go there." Everyone nodded and she smiled down at her girlfriend. "You want the shower first baby?"

Willow looked up and smiled. "Sure. I'll be quick." She stood and kissed the slayer quickly before heading to her room for a shower.

"So is that a yes from everyone then?" Faith asked. She smiled when she got affirmatives from everyone and turned towards her room. "B you want the shower first?"

Buffy followed after her. "Yeah, do you mind?"

Faith shook her head. "Nah, go ahead."

Buffy gave her a smile and squeezed her arm gently as she passed her to go into her room. "Thanks, Faith."

Faith smiled and dropped her stuff in the room before she turned back to the common room and smiled as she approached the bar in the corner. "Who wants shots?" The only other three people in the room, Cordelia, Xander and Kennedy all raised their hands and made their way over towards her. "Kamikazes okay?"

"Mmm, I haven't had one of those in forever," Cordelia told them all with a smile.

Xander slid an arm around her shoulders and gave her a little squeeze. "It's good to have you back, Cordy."

She smiled warmly and squeezed him around the waist. "It's good to be back. Angel's crew was like a family to me, but I almost feel like I'm home here."

He smiled wider. "Well, you're with family here too so you should feel like it's home."

They both shared a smile and looked over at Faith as she handed over the shot glasses and the four of them took their shots. Faith took a second shot right after the first and turned towards her room. "We're gonna have a good time tonight, kids!" she called out over her shoulder as she headed to her room to pick out something to wear.

P

Buffy moved to her room once she was done with her shower and got dressed in some short work out shorts and a tank so she could dry her hair and do her make up. She smiled to herself when she heard the techno music drift into her room from Faith's room through the still open door of the bathroom. A moment later she heard the shower start and she knew it would be safe to enter the bathroom.

"Faith, I need to dry my hair and do my make up. Is that okay?" she asked as she entered the room.

Faith gave her a smile and took a sip of her beer. "Sure, B. Go ahead."

Buffy stopped for a second and gave her a funny look. "Faith, a beer in the shower? Isn't that a bit much?"

Faith winked and shook her head. "Nah." She paused and set her bottle down. "B, we're living large here and when we have to work, I'll bust my ass. Just know that when we get to play, I wanna party."

Buffy grinned widely and nodded her head. "You're right."

Faith gave her a sexy grin and a wink. "Want me to make you a shot when I get outta here? I can make ya something really sweet that you just can't resist."

Buffy was momentarily captivated by the smile Faith was giving her and the smell of her shampoo mixed into the warm, steamy air. She felt her stomach tighten and her pulse quicken. "Like what?"

Faith shrugged. "I dunno, sex on the beach, an orgasm, buttery nipple maybe?"

Buffy couldn't hold Faith's gaze anymore as she started to blush a bit but her eyes fell to the frosted glass door of the shower. She couldn't see anything, but she could make out Faith's figure and she couldn't help but get even hotter in the room. She met Faith's eyes again and smiled her own sexy smile. "I'll take whatever you wanna give me, Faith."

The younger slayer raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" She grinned. "I'll remember that, B." Faith turned and rinsed the conditioner out of her hair and turned the water off in the shower before wrapping herself up in a towel and stepping out. She stepped right up behind Buffy, who was sitting on the counter to do her make up. "You sure you want what I got, Blondie?"

Buffy met her eyes in the mirror and nodded her head slowly. "Never been more sure of anything." She paused and winked. "Besides, you always did make really good shots."

Faith grinned and disappeared into her room, not knowing that Buffy's eyes never left her frame until she was out of sight.

P

Once everyone was dressed, Faith had them all gather around for one last round of shots, except for Dawn and they all got in the elevator to head out for the night.

Faith let herself fall back from the rest of the gang and Kennedy noticed quickly and slowed to walk with her. "You okay?"

Faith nodded and lit a cigarette. "Yeah, I'm good." She took a drag and handed it to the younger slayer.

"Then why are you walking all the way back here?" she asked as she took a drag from Faith's cigarette and handed it back.

Faith shrugged and ran a hand through her hair. "Sometimes this whole thing just seems surreal and I can't really believe that I'm here. All of us are together and getting along and my life is going well. I just can't help but sit and wait for the other shoe to drop."

Kennedy grasped Faith's hand and smiled. "Faith, I think you're a good person. I think that you've always been a good person; you just got into some deep shit and didn't have anyone to turn to. I think that bad things happen to good people all the time and I think that really great things happen to good people all the time." She paused and grabbed Faith's cigarette again. "I just think that life is finally giving you the good that you deserve. Don't question it, just go with it and enjoy it as long as you can."

Faith pondered her friend's words for a minute and nodded her head. "I don't know how you do it, Kid."

Kennedy grinned. "Do what?"

Faith shook her head. "I've never talked this much to anyone before."

Kennedy shot her a hip check and pulled her up with the rest of the group. "It's a friendship that's meant to be, Faith. Just go with it."

Buffy turned when she felt Faith get closer and gave her a beautiful smile and reached back to grasp the hand that Kennedy had just released. "You okay?"

Faith thought for a second and nodded her head. "Yeah, B. I'm great." She turned and grabbed Cordelia and linked their arms and gave her a grin.

Cordelia looked around for a moment at her old friends and she was overwhelmed with emotion when she realized how lucky she was to have a second shot at a life and she was secretly thrilled that she was back with Buffy's crew. She loved Angel and the whole gang in L.A., but there was something about the slayers and the Scooby's that couldn't be denied.

P

Once they entered the club, Faith led them all to the bar and got them all shots to start off with. The rest of the gang smiled when Faith didn't waste a minute pulling Cordelia out to the dance floor with her.

Buffy felt a twinge of jealousy run through her as she watched the two brunettes dance together. The upbeat song only lasted a short while before a slow song came on and Faith pulled the taller girl close. She wrapped an arm around her waist as they danced and Buffy could see them talking.

"You okay?" Cordelia asked as they danced.

Faith looked up and nodded. "Sure. Why?"

Cordelia shrugged. "I'm just picking up on something"

Faith smiled. "Is this like some kind of residual higher being shit you have going on?"

Cordelia winked. "Hey, don't knock it." She shrugged. "It may be. I just get the feeling like you're conflicted."

Faith shrugged and dropped her eyes. "Maybe I am."

Cordelia dipped her head and caught the slayer's eyes. "Wanna talk about it?"

Faith grinned and shook her head. She grabbed Cordelia's hand and pulled her towards the bar. "I want to have fun tonight. We can talk tomorrow."

Cordelia tugged on Faith's hand, which did little to slow the slayer down, but she turned nonetheless. "I really do want us to talk. Can we, tomorrow, for real?"

Faith looked over Cordelia's shoulder and waved Buffy over. She looked up at the taller brunette and rolled her eyes, shaking her head reluctantly. "Fine." She grinned as Buffy appeared behind Cordelia and winked at her. "B! Ready for another shot?"

Buffy grinned and nodded her head. "Yes!" She looked up at Cordelia and gave her a smile. "Cordelia, I'm really glad you're back."

The brunette smiled and she reached out to squeeze Buffy's arm gently. "You have no idea how glad I am that I'm back."

"I just wanna get fucking hammered and dance with the two hottest girls in this place," Faith called out over the music as she downed three shots back to back.

Buffy handed another shot to Faith and held up a finger, signaling her to wait for her toast. "Here's to the three of us…super hot girls, with super hot superpowers."

The three girls lifted their glasses and took their shots quickly. Buffy reached over and handed another to Cordelia and they both took another.

"Damn, after seven you can't even taste them," Faith mumbled with a grin as she slung an arm around Buffy's shoulders and led her to the dance floor. Cordelia smiled happily and watched them from the bar.

Once she turned, Buffy was suddenly drowning in her own happiness. Her shots were kicking in and the elation, that would most likely lead to tears or throwing up or something equally awful later in the evening, was pumping through her full blast. The music was good, the night was young and the crush of warm bodies was lulling her into a state of utter euphoria.

Faith suddenly reached out and her hands were on Buffy's hips. Buffy reached out and wrapped her arms around Faith's neck and pulled her closer. They danced like they had that night. They danced like they were teenagers again with nothing to lose and like the world was their playground. They danced like they felt like they should have been able to the first time around. Before things got sticky, before things got real and before the whole world had come crashing down on them with one stupid mistake.

And as always, when something big went down with the slayers, like it was at that moment, the rest of the gang watched. They all somehow knew that something was changing…in that exact moment when the slayers danced close enough for each to feel a warm tickle of a breath across their cheek. When they wrapped their arms around each other, everyone else knew exactly what it meant…the slayers were exactly where they were supposed to be. All was right in the world for one night because the two girls scripted and destined to save it were in perfect harmony and exactly where they were fated to be…whether or not they knew it…that was a different story.

P

A.N. Please let me know what you guys think about this chapter…I was feeling some fun for my two favorite slayers…especially since they aren't having any in the other story I'm working on. : ) I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks so much for reading!


	7. Here, it hurts just a bit

A.N. Quick update…hope you enjoy!

//

It was unusually dark in Slayer Central the next morning. Dawn, the only one that hadn't been drinking, was up first and she was brilliant enough to put on a pot of coffee, knowing everyone would be up within minutes once they smelled it brewing.

She rode the elevator down to the bottom floor and got out, heading for the cafeteria. She grabbed two copies of the newspaper and a tray. She wandered slowly through the breakfast line and carefully picked out her selections, getting them boxed up to take back upstairs with her.

She wasn't surprised to see Willow and Kennedy, the latter wearing sunglasses even in the darkness of the room, hovering over the coffee pot.

"Morning," the youngest girl told them both as she set both papers down on the table, scooting one across from where she placed her box from downstairs.

The other two girls managed to mumble something that resembled a greeting before pouring themselves large cups of coffee. Willow took the seat in front of the second newspaper as Dawn slid the box of doughnuts towards them before moving to get coffee herself.

"Thanks, Dawnie," Willow mumbled. She wasn't feeling nearly as bad as her poor girlfriend who, once again, decided to try to keep up with Faith when it came to drinking. The two of them had been up most of the night with Kennedy throwing all of her alcohol back up.

The three girls turned to see Buffy's door open and a second later Faith's door open. The two slayers staggered towards the kitchen, both also wearing sunglasses as they approached the table, and both resembling zombies as they made their way over. Faith moved to the fridge and grabbed a beer and a small container of milk, knowing Buffy would want it for her coffee. She handed it to the blonde just as she was finishing pouring her coffee and she added milk and put it back in the fridge. As she turned she smiled again when Faith handed her a jelly filled doughnut and the two headed for the roof without saying a word.

Cordelia was next to emerge, her hair mused as she staggered into her door as she opened it. She clutched at her head as she made her way to the table and plunked down rather ungracefully. Dawn handed her a steaming cup of coffee, smiling as Cordelia cupped her chin gently and mumbled, "I kind of love you for this."

Before Dawn could reply Xander's door opened and he emerged slowly. He was wearing only his boxers and a dress shirt, half buttoned and one sock.

"Xander are you okay?" Dawn asked.

He shook his head and held out a hand as the other hand grasped his head. "No taking." He made his way to the fridge and grabbed a beer as well, popping the top off and taking a long drink. He gave Dawn a ghost of a smile when three aspirin appeared in her palm next to his head. A moment later he was on his way back to his room, shutting his door behind him.

Kennedy suddenly mumbled something incoherent and stood up from the table, swaying slightly as she made her way back to hers and Willow's room. When the door shut behind her, Willow looked up at Dawn and smiled. "Wanna catch a movie?"

Dawn smiled appreciatively and nodded. "Sounds good." She glanced at Cordelia who appeared to have fallen back asleep at the table and she ran a hand down the older girl's arm. "Cordelia, are you okay?"

Cordelia lifted her head and took a long sip of her coffee. "I think I'll go back to bed."

Dawn and Willow watched as she stood up shakily and headed back to her room. They exchanged a look and shook their heads, each heading off to get dressed.

//

Cordelia listened closely as she approached the gym, trying to figure out what the pounding sound was as she got closer. She peered through the windows in the door once she was close enough and smiled when she saw Faith kicking a soccer ball against the wall.

She opened the door and smiled as the slayer turned. "Hey, what are you doing here all alone at lunch time? If I know you, you don't generally miss a meal."

Faith grinned and kicked the ball so it flew straight up in the air and she grabbed it before it hit the floor. "I just needed to think."

Cordelia raised an eyebrow. "Anything you wanna talk about? You told me the other night we'd talk."

Faith's lips pursed as she mulled over the offer from her taller friend. "I guess I can't hold much back from you at this point since we need to figure out your mission so you can stay, right?"

Cordelia gave her a brilliant smile and nodded. "Absolutely."

Faith looked around and tossed her ball from hand to hand a few times. "Can we take a walk? I kinda want to get outside."  
Cordelia held out a hand in front of her, waving it around. "Lead the way."

Faith turned and led the other girl out the back door and towards the running path that led to the rope wall and the obstacle course. It was usually pretty quiet at lunch. "So since you've been a higher being and everything, does that mean you aren't gonna judge me and be a smart ass?"

Cordelia laughed. "Well I don't make any promises on the smart ass part, but I won't judge."

Faith was silent for a few long minutes and Cordelia was patient, giving the younger girl all the time she needed. "In high school, you knew exactly how much power you had over guys, right?"

Cordelia gave her a strange look. "Faith, what does this have to do with anything?"

Faith gave her a desperate look. "Just…humor me, please?" Cordelia shut her mouth and motioned with her hand for the slayer to continue.

"I always knew how much power I had over guys. Especially stupid losers that I always managed to attract somehow," she mumbled quietly. "I never thought I'd ever be on the other side of that." She paused, knowing she wasn't explaining herself very well. "I'm in love with Buffy."

Cordelia's head snapped up and she smiled. "Really?" It only took a moment to wrap her head around it and she reached out to squeeze the other girl's arm. "Faith, that's great."

Faith snorted. "Great? It sucks!" She shook her head. "Do you have any idea how it feels to fall in love with a girl? A girl like Buffy? Girls are sexy and soft and they smell good. They give you these little smiles and wink and bite their lip. She does all this flirty shit that makes me crazy. I never know if she's for real because we've always toed the line with this flirty stuff." She paused again. "Girls drive you crazy and have you thinking about them all the time. All you want to do is be theirs and not let anyone lay a hand on them." She shook her head again. "Guys are easy, they do sweet things and they listen to your problems so you think you love them and all they want to do is get in your pants. That's all they care about. Girls are so different. They actually care about things that happen to you and they want to help. She makes me crazy because all I want to do is touch her, but I know once I do, if I do, I'll never be able to not touch her again."

There was stunned silence for a minute. "Sounds like love to me," Cordelia told her softly.

"It's awful," Faith replied with a pout.

"Is it?"

"Yeah," she replied. "She's all I can think about. When she's close to me, she has my stomach in knots and I practically drool all over myself."

Cordelia smiled sympathetically. "I can see how that would be awful. But, Faith, that's the great part. You are in that place right before something starts, when things are exciting and everything is new and great. Trust me when I say that you should embrace all these feelings."

Faith gave her a long, knowing look. "You and Angel?"

Cordelia didn't even bother trying to lie. "A long time ago."

"You won't try again when you get to stay?" she asked quietly.

Cordelia shook her head. "No. I think in a way, we both knew that was our only shot to love each other. It's over and that's for the best."

"Can you believe he runs the evil law firm?" Faith asked with a grin. "B was pissed."

"It can't be that evil. Anything that's truly evil would have put his toothy ass in touch with someone or something that could have woken me up from that damn coma."

They both laughed and walked a bit more and talked a bit more. Cordelia couldn't get over how much less guarded Faith was these days. Faith never used to talk about herself or feelings or anything even remotely close to the conversation they'd just had. She had a feeling she could blame Kennedy for that.

//

A.N. It's kinda short, I know, but wanted to give everyone a little treat for it being Monday. I hope this helps make it a bit better. Please let me know what you thought and thanks so much for reading!!


	8. Here we have a connection

A.N. Hey kids. Here's the next segment of this story for ya. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks so much for all the love in the way of reviews. It totally makes my day. Thanks for reading!

//

Buffy entered Slayer Central one afternoon and noticed it was abandoned except for Cordelia sitting on the couch reading a magazine. She looked up and smiled as the slayer entered. "Hey."

Buffy smiled. "Hey." She moved to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. "Where is everyone?"

"Went to a movie," she replied as she got up and moved to the table.

Buffy frowned. "How come you didn't go?"

Cordelia mock glared. "Are you trying to tell me you don't want me around?"

The slayer shook her head and jutted a thumb over her shoulder. "Wanna go upstairs so I can smoke?"

Cordelia wrinkled her nose, but followed nonetheless. She watched a moment as the slayer sat down on the swing, took a deep breath and looked out on the school grounds. "You do realize that kissing someone that smokes is like licking an ashtray, right?"

Buffy shrugged. "I'm not really kissing anyone these days, so it's not like it matters."

"Didn't you think it was gross when you kissed Spike?" she asked carefully, not sure how Buffy would react to talking about the vamp.

Buffy's head dropped and she lit her cigarette. "I was sleeping with him," she told the other girl with a look of mild disgust. "The smoking really sort of paled in comparison."

Cordelia decided to change the subject. "So how are you doing?"

Buffy looked up and out towards the horizon, her eyes not really focusing on anything. Against the pink and orange horizon, with her hair blowing in the wind, Cordelia could really see what Faith found so beautiful in the blonde slayer. "I think I'm finally okay."

Cordelia smiled. "That's good."

Buffy nodded and remained silent for a minute. "Did they at least make it easy on you?"

The brunette girl furrowed her brow and frowned. "Did who make what easy?"

Buffy bowed her head. "The Powers. Did they make you coming back easy?"

Cordelia cocked her head and watched Buffy for a moment, watching the emotion play in her eyes. "I didn't feel a thing. One second I was there and the next I was here."

Buffy nodded silently. "You're lucky."

Cordelia nodded. "I know." She watched the slayer smoke out of the corner of her eye. "Are you sure you're okay? I can't help but feel like you're…sad, scared, upset…something."

Buffy looked up and slowly smiled. "How do you keep doing that?"

Cordelia shrugged. "I know I'm not a higher being anymore, but I think I have some kind of residual empathic stuff floating around inside." She nudged the slayer. "You can talk to me, ya know. I'm not like I used to be."

Buffy smiled a bit and shrugged. "I am kinda conflicted and upset and sad and a little scared, so you were right on." She sighed heavily when the other girl simply listened. "I just don't understand how I can go from practically hating someone to feeling like I can't live without them. I don't know how I always get myself into these situations."

Cordelia hid a smile as her curiosity was piqued. "Okay, who is it that you can't live without?"

Buffy smiled in spite of herself and she shook her head. "I can't. Not yet."

The other girl frowned. "Come on, Buffy. Please?" She thought a moment. "I know it's not Andrew is it?" Buffy shook her head as her face soured. "It can't be Xander." Buffy shook her head again. Suddenly Cordelia looked up, her eyes suspicious. "Is it me?" At that, the slayer simply stood and waited, an expectant look on her face, waiting for the other girl to realize how stupid her comment was. Cordelia laughed and waved a hand in the air. "Of course it's not me…you never hated me." She grinned. "I would understand not being able to live without me though."

Buffy smiled and rolled her eyes. "No, not you or Andrew or Xander."

Cordelia raised an eyebrow and smiled a bit as it came to her. "That only leaves-"

"Faith," Buffy interrupted before she could say anything else.

Cordelia studied her for a moment. "I never would have guessed." She paused a moment and shook her head. "Actually, that night at the Bronze when we were all talking about your love life and you told us that you two were just good friends, I might have suspected something." She paused again. "Were you two doing it then?"

Buffy laughed and shook her head. "No." She sighed heavily and sat down on the swing. "We've never done it."

Cordelia was intrigued. "But you wanted to, right?"

Buffy shrugged. "I don't know. Once I got over the whole 'Faith is trying to steal my life thing' I really couldn't stay away from her. I was always thinking about her and I wanted to be around her all the time."

"Until the night with Finch," Cordelia remembered.

Buffy dropped her head. "I would have done anything to help her. I just didn't want us to get in trouble. I knew it was an accident and I would give just about anything to go back and make it right."

"Second chances are funny like that," Cordelia told her with a tiny smile. "You have a chance to make things right with her now. You have a chance to make things work. You can have the relationship now that I think you've both wanted all along."

Buffy lit another cigarette and looked out over the horizon. "You almost make it sound like she wants the same thing I do for us."

Cordelia shrugged, she kept Faith's feelings to herself. "I just think you should both take full advantage of the chance you have to make things right between you two."

Buffy watched her carefully for a minute, not really able to shake the feeling that Cordelia was hiding something from her. "I guess you're right."

Cordelia rolled her eyes and sighed. "Honey, I'm always right. Didn't you get the memo?" She grinned. "What would you super hero types do without me anyways?"

Buffy grinned and shook her head. "I'm not entirely sure. Shrivel up and die maybe?"

"Well, then it's a good thing I'm here," the brunette told her with a grin.

They shared a smile and both knew that they were different people this time around and both found they liked each other much more this time around. It was almost as if it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

//

"Buff, Faith, Kennedy, check this out," Xander said with a grin as he approached the three slayers. He held up what looked like a pistol with a larger barrel and handed it to Buffy when he was close enough.

"What's this?" Buffy asked as she turned the weapon over.

"Is this it?" Kennedy asked Xander with a grin as she reached over and took it from her hands gently. She turned, shooting a crossbow bolt into a nearby target. She flicked her wrist and the weapon automatically reloaded allowing her to shoot again quickly. She turned and tossed the weapon back to Buffy and gave Xander a soft punch to the shoulder. "Just like you said it would be."

He shrugged and smiled sheepishly under the scrutiny of the slayers. "Yeah, well, you know me."

Buffy looked from the younger slayer to her dear friend, not liking that she was out of the loop. "You made this?"

He nodded and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Well, I needed something to keep me busy once all the projects were done with the building and making weapons sounded fun."

She nodded and handed the weapon to Faith, who smiled as she inspected it. "Nice, X-man."

"Thanks," he replied with a warm smile.

Suddenly one of the younger slayers approached and pointed at the weapon. "You made that?" she asked Xander with a grin.

He balked a moment but smiled when Faith gave him a slight nudge towards the girl. "Yeah, it's a new thing I'm trying."

She nodded and pushed a few errant blonde strands of hair behind her ear. "That's really cool."

"Thanks," he replied with a smile as he grabbed the weapon from Faith's hands and handed it to the younger slayer. "I'm Xander."

"Cameron," she replied, extending her hand and shaking his. "Have you made anything else?"

He shook his head. "Not yet. Any suggestions?"

She shrugged. "I was thinking it would be kind of cool to have something like a retractable stake that we could train with and not worry about hurting each other."

Buffy and Faith exchanged a look at this, both thinking it was a good idea and both liking that Xander was getting some female attention. Faith gave him a soft slap on the back as she, Buffy and Kennedy wandered off to give him some privacy.

Xander smiled at the retreating girls and shook his head when he saw the winks Kennedy and Faith shot him as they were leaving. "That's a great idea. I really feel like I need to pick the slayer brain to figure out what would help you guys in battle."

She suddenly dropped her head and looked up at him through her lashes, giving him a flirty smile. "You can pick my brain if you want."

"Over dinner maybe?" he asked once he swallowed the lump in his throat.

She gave him a little nod and squeezed his arm. "I'd love to."

He nodded mutely, still not really believing a super hot slayer was agreeing to a date with him. "Is Friday okay with you?"

"Pick me up at seven," she told him with a smile. "I'm in room 408."

He nodded and gave her a little wave as he backed up a few steps. "408."

She nodded and smiled, returning his wave before turning and heading off towards the gym. He stood and watched her go, smiling as she tripped a little and turned back to see if he was watching. She laughed out loud and covered her face with her hand, completely embarrassed. He smiled and tripped over himself standing still to make her feel better and smiled wider when she laughed again. They exchanged a sweet smile and one last wave before each heading off to do what they had to do.

//

Faith didn't have to turn her head when she heard the door behind her open one morning. She had felt Buffy moving steadily towards her for the last minute or so and the essence of the other slayer nearly consumed her when the door opened. She closed her eyes and let a steady stream of smoke pass her pursed lips as the cool breeze played through her hair.

"Hey," Buffy called out from a distance, hoping not to startle the other girl.

Faith smiled, letting the dimple on her cheek to stand out. "Hey, B. Wanna sit? Wanna smoke?"

Buffy smiled and moved to occupy the seat next to Faith. She took a cigarette from the pack Faith held out to her and handed over her cup of coffee in return.

"Mmm, thanks," Faith mumbled as she closed her eyes and sipped the hot coffee. "I've been sitting up here dreaming of coffee but I was too damn lazy to move."

Buffy giggled and took a drag of her cigarette. "Somehow I knew it." She took a moment and looked the other slayer over carefully. "Faith, are you okay? You look kind of pale."

The other slayer shrugged and looked out over the school grounds. "Just tired."

Buffy perked up a bit, she loved playing therapist. "Not sleeping well?"

Faith almost grinned a little; she barely kept the corners of her mouth still. Internally she was rolling her eyes because she knew Buffy was enjoying this way too much. "Not really." She looked down at her hands and rolled her eyes at herself when she noticed Buffy watching her carefully. "Nightmares."

Buffy dropped the therapist act immediately and took her cup of coffee back for a sip before handing it back to Faith. "Wanna talk about it?"

Faith sat silent for a moment thinking about everything that Kennedy had ever said to her about being friends and sharing feelings and all the other stuff Faith just deemed 'emotional crap' and it was then that she noticed everything inside her was screaming to shut up and run away. She snubbed out her cigarette and took a deep breath as she went against her better judgment and she opened her mouth. "I'm sorta coming up on an anniversary."

Buffy lit two more cigarettes and handed one over. "I take it that it's not the good kind of anniversary?"

Faith looked puzzled a moment. "I didn't think there were anything but the bad kind."

Buffy's face fell and she reached out and kissed Faith on the cheek and hugged her close. "I hate you've lived the way you've lived."

Faith looked at her sideways for a moment, completely thrown by the kiss on the cheek. "I'm really trying to not take that the wrong way."

Buffy gave her a sheepish grin and shrugged. She gave the other slayer a shooing motion with her hands signaling that she should continue.

Faith took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. She took a long drag of her cigarette and blew it out slowly and deliberately. "I was dating this guy a few years ago. He was a few years older than me and he was a total bastard." She paused when she saw Buffy squirm. "Anyways…he sort of…he sort of hit me a few times."

Buffy gasped and Faith was almost sure she could see tears in her eyes. "This was before the slayer powers I guess?"

Faith nodded and took a deep, shaky breath in. "Well, one night he got really drunk and he decided that he wanted to sleep with me." Buffy reached out slowly and began absently playing with the ring on Faith's finger as she listened. Faith took in another shuddering breath. "I didn't want to, but he decided he was going to anyways."

"Aw, Faith," Buffy murmured as she pulled the other slayer close in a hug. Faith finally let a few tears fall as she clung to Buffy for all she was worth. Buffy couldn't help but feel that this was the closest that she had ever felt to Faith. She could feel a deep connection spring up instantly as she held the other girl tightly as she cried. They both instantly jumped apart when they heard a sniffle behind them. Kennedy was standing just outside the door looking shocked at what had come out of Faith's mouth.

Faith gave her a sympathetic look and stood up, approaching the younger slayer slowly. "Come here, Ken."

Kennedy sniffled as they wrapped each other in a hug. "Sorry…I didn't mean...I was coming up here…I didn't mean to overhear."

Faith shook her head as the two of them stood on the roof in a tight embrace. Buffy only then realized just how close the two brunette slayers had become while she was gone. They seemed to have an achingly sweet friendship that bordered on sisterly and Buffy finally felt no jealousy as she watched them and couldn't help but feel extremely thankful Faith had a friend like Kennedy.

//

A.N. Well next time we get into some drama with the chosen two so stay tuned! I hope you enjoyed this part and please let me know what you thought. Thanks so much for reading!

Peace


	9. Here comes a confession

A.N. Okay…another Monday treat for my favorite readers…I hope you enjoy this one! Thanks so much for reading.

//

Faith and Buffy sat on the roof of the building, Faith with a cigarette in one hand and Buffy with a bottle of water. Faith handed over the cigarette and took the water. Buffy took a drag and blew the smoke out slowly. "Did you notice Xander and the new slayer girl?"

"Cameron?" Faith asked once she capped the water bottle.

Buffy nodded and took another drag, handing the cigarette back to Faith. "Yeah, they seemed to be pretty chummy."

"She was one of the girls that lost a watcher, right?" Faith asked softly, knowing what that was like.

Buffy nodded and glanced at Faith, sensing something in her voice. She ran a sympathetic hand down her arm and her brow furrowed when she felt Faith shiver. "You okay?"

Faith nodded and snubbed the cigarette out. "It's starting to get cool. We should see some snow this year."

Buffy smiled. "You sound excited."

"I am," Faith told her with a smile. "I haven't seen snow since Boston."

"Not true," Buffy told her almost immediately. "Remember the Christmas eve that it snowed when the First tried to get Angel to kill himself?"

Faith nodded mutely, a tiny smile on her lips. "Almost forgot about that one. If I remember correctly, hell broke loose not long after that."

"Yeah, pretty much," Buffy told her with a sad smile.

"Did I ever tell you that you inviting me to dinner that night was pretty much the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me?" Faith asked quietly.

Buffy looked up and met Faith's eyes. Suddenly Buffy was overcome with emotion and she felt a tear slip down her cheek. Faith's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion and she reached out to wipe away the stray tear. "What's this about, B?"

"I was so glad to see you that night," Buffy told her softly. "I never should have let you stay in that awful motel. You should have stayed with me, but I was so jealous and scared and I didn't know what I was doing. Other than pushing you away, of course."

Faith gave her a long look and sighed heavily. "Why is that?" she asked quietly, dropping her head.

"Because I was in love with you," Buffy told her simply.

Faith's head snapped back up and she looked at Buffy carefully for a long time. She didn't say a word; she just sat trying to figure out if Buffy was just messing with her.

Buffy looked her dead in the eye. "I'm still in love with you."

Faith sat completely still for what seemed like the first time in her life and she didn't move for at least a minute and a half. She shook herself out of it and her shoulders slumped and she lit another cigarette.

"Faith, will you say something?" she asked softly.

The younger slayer looked up and met her gaze. "What do you want me to say, B? All these years and everything we've been through. The hell you put me through and you tell me you used to be in love with me and you still are? You let me go to prison and you wouldn't let me apologize. You made me hate myself all this time."

"Faith," she started.

"No," Faith interrupted. "I can't be around you right now, B."

"Wait, let me explain," Buffy tried again.

Faith stood up and headed for the door without another word. Buffy got up to follow her, but Faith spun around and held up a hand. "No. I'm going, you stay. I need to think."

Buffy sat back down and lit another cigarette, knowing Faith wouldn't talk to her as mad as she was. She swiped angrily at her tears, knowing she had royally screwed up the one chance she had to tell Faith how she felt. She feared she may have messed things up for good and that thought was enough to start a cascade of tears.

//

Faith stomped down the stairs angrily and shoved through the door to the gang's rooms, heading for the fridge. She grabbed a beer and popped the top, leaning her head back and chugging the whole beer in one long gulp. She looked up and noticed Cordelia and Kennedy watching her closely. "You girls wanna go out for a few drinks?"

The other two brunettes exchanged a look and both shrugged. "Faith, what's wrong?" Kennedy asked.

Faith shook her head. "No. Drinks first, talking later. Come on, I know a good place."

"Do they card? I don't exactly have a license these days. Not one that's valid anyways," Cordelia mumbled as she and Kennedy followed the other slayer out of the building.

Faith led them both to a small bar on the outskirts of downtown Cleveland and the girls got a table while Faith ordered shots and beers for all of them. She sat down and lit a cigarette, not meeting either girl's eyes, knowing they'd push her the moment she did.

Once the drinks arrived, they each took the two shots and chased them with the beers the each had. "Okay, we have our drinks, now you can explain what has you in such a…" she waved her hand around, not knowing the word.

"Borderline psychotic mood?" Cordelia supplied with a frown from her seat next to Faith.

Faith glared at both girls and took a long drink of her beer. "Buffy's in love with me."

Kennedy and Cordelia exchanged wide-eyed looks. "Damn. She finally told you?" Kennedy asked.

Faith leaned across the table and grabbed Kennedy by the front of the shirt. "What the hell do you mean she finally told me? You knew and you didn't tell me? How the hell could you not tell me? You're supposed to be my best friend."

Kennedy smacked her hands away angrily. "I am your best friend. And in case you didn't notice, you asshole, all I've _been_ telling you is that she's in love with you. You just didn't want to listen!"

Cordelia pushed the two slayers away from each other and got between them a bit, knowing neither would hurt her. "Okay. Let's go easy. Can you two finish having your peeing contest to see who's toughest so we can get back to the Buffy being in love with you part?" She watched as both slayers calmed down and sat back in their seats, both lighting a cigarette. "Does she know you love her?"

Faith took another long drink and signaled to the bartender that they needed another round. "I have no idea."

Cordelia looked at her carefully. "So why are you so pissed off?"

Faith looked up with a dark look in her eyes and Cordelia actually backed up in her seat a bit. "She left me to be the second hand slayer in that damn motel. She hung me out to dry with Finch and she let me sit in prison for three years with me thinking she hated me. I hated myself because of her."

Cordelia shook her head. "Faith, you killed a man and shut us out. Yes it was an accident, but you tried to pin it on Buffy and tried to kill us all. I'd say you're at about fifty-fifty when it comes to the blame game."

Faith opened her mouth to retort, but closed it again when she realized Cordelia was right. "Still. She could have been a little nicer to me. If she had killed Finch, you guys would have been up her ass just to confirm the sun was still, in fact, shining out of it."

"Not that way at all," Cordelia told her with a sad look.

"Maybe not you, C, but the rest of the super friends would have," Faith told her with a shake of her head.

"Faith, you may not believe me, but I'm pretty sure that every one of us fell in love with you a little bit at some point when you first came to Sunnydale," Cordelia told her quietly, her head down, peeling the label off her bottle. "We would have had your back if you had just come to us."

Faith sighed heavily and shook her head. "I was just a kid, C. I had no family, no watcher and nothing to fall back on. I didn't know what the hell to do."

Cordelia leaned over and pulled the slayer into a warm hug. "I know, Faith. We should have been better to you, but you should have been more open with us."

Faith looked up. "Forgive and forget?"

Cordelia smiled and kissed Faith lightly on the cheek. "Absolutely." She suddenly grinned widely and leaned back in her chair. "So tell us more about this thing with Buffy."

//

Meanwhile, Buffy sat on the roof crying. She was terrified that she had ruined everything with Faith and it was affecting her more than she realized it would.

Willow suddenly pushed through the door and approached her friend slowly. She sat down next to the slayer and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, knowing Buffy would talk when she was ready.

"I screwed everything up, Will," she sobbed out quietly.

Willow ran a hand up and down her back, trying to calm her down a bit. "What did you mess up?"

Buffy looked up and shook her head. "Faith hates me."

Willow gave her a disapproving look. "Did you two get into a fight?"

Buffy frowned. "No."

"Then what happened?" the redhead asked quietly.

Buffy was silent for a few moments and she dropped her head. "I told her that I used to be in love with her. I told her that I'm still in love with her."

"And that made her hate you?" she asked.

Buffy looked up with a confused look on her face. "Why don't you seem more surprised that I'm in love with Faith?"

Willow shrugged. "You were always into her a bit too much for it to be just a friend thing or even just a slayer thing. Even back then, I knew it was something more but I didn't want to admit it to myself. I was afraid I'd lose you as my best friend."

"You didn't think to tell me any of this before now?" Buffy asked.

Willow shook her head casually. "Buff, you would have denied it. You obviously are only just now ready to deal with your feelings otherwise you would have told her before now."  
Buffy frowned. "You're right."

Willow grinned and squeezed her hand. "I know."

"She still hates me," Buffy mumbled sadly.

Willow shook her head. "No. She loves you."

Buffy looked up at her friend with a questioning gaze. "No. I don't think she does."

Willow rolled her eyes. "Buff, you didn't see her after you left for Europe, she was so bummed out and mopey and sad. The two days before you came back she drank herself into a complete idiot every night. She loves you."

//

"So, are you gonna forgive her and make with the girly love?" Kennedy asked with a grin.

Faith shook her head and looked up when the next round of shots arrived. They each took their shots and chased them with the beer again. "I'm not sure what I want to do."

"Wait. Let me get this straight," Kennedy said. "The girl you love loves you back and you don't know what to do?"

"I'm not sure I can let her in," Faith told them both with a bit of a pout.

"Why is that?" Kennedy asked.

"She broke my heart," she replied, her voice cracking, not looking up at either girl.

Cordelia reached across the table and grasped Faith's hands in hers and waited until she could look the slayer dead in the eye so she'd know she was serious. "Faith, if there's one thing I know about Buffy it's that she loves with her whole heart. When she falls in love, she does it fully and completely. If she says that she's in love with you, you'll have her heart until you don't want it anymore, not the other way around."

Faith looked up with tears in her eyes. "She's the only person besides Angel that I've ever let in and she tried to kill me. She broke my heart and now tells me she's always been in love with me. This is too much for me. Besides if she loved me before, why didn't she do more to help me before?"

"That's a question you need to ask Buffy," Kennedy told her softly.

"Faith, I'll just say this," Cordelia told her as she placed a hand on her arm. "Just let her try. Let her love you and let yourself love her back. You might be surprised."

Faith looked up with a hopeful look in her eyes. "You think so?"

Both girls looked at her with genuine grins on their faces and both nodded. Faith just smiled and ordered another round of drinks. She decided that share time was over and now all she wanted to do was get hammered with her friends.

//

A.N. Thanks again for reading kids…please let me know what you thought of this one.

Peace


	10. Here we begin

A.N. Thanks for all the love for this story guys…I'm glad you're all sticking with it. Here's the next part, I hope you enjoy and thanks for reading!!

//

The three brunette girls stumbled in a few hours later and each headed in a different direction. Kennedy headed for hers and Willow's room and Cordelia headed for her room. Faith stood in the middle of Slayer Central and really thought for a moment about what she wanted to do. A moment later she headed for Buffy's door and she knocked on it gently.

"B?" she called out quietly.

The older slayer opened the door and smiled fondly when she saw how drunk Faith was. "Are you okay, Faith?"

The younger slayer pushed past her and stood in the center of the room. "Do you really love me?" she asked softly, her back to the older slayer.

Buffy closed the door gently and stood behind Faith, not sure she could look her in the eye. "I do. I always have."

"I've never had anyone love me before," Faith told her, her voice cracking slightly. "I'm not entirely sure my mother even loved me."

"Faith," Buffy whispered.

The younger slayer turned and looked at her with teary eyes. "B, you broke my heart the first time. Promise me you won't do it again."

Buffy stepped forward and pulled the younger girl into a hug. She felt Faith go rigid for a moment before she relaxed into her arms. "I won't make that mistake again. I promise."

Faith began to cry and she hiccupped a few times, pulling Buffy even closer. "I love you, B."

Buffy held her close for a minute before she pulled back and looked Faith in the eye. "I love you, Faith."

Faith seemed to almost cry harder at the admission from the other slayer and Buffy pulled her back into her arms. "Aw, honey, how much did you have to drink?"

Faith pulled back and shook her head, moving to the window to smoke. She pouted as she sat on the sill. "I don't know."

Buffy smiled at how cute Faith was in that moment and sat on the other side of the window sill and pulled a cigarette out for both of them.

Buffy just sat and watched as Faith smoked her cigarette. She had never felt so completely relieved as she did in that moment. Faith wasn't mad at her anymore, Faith loved her back and now the two of them could finally move on with their relationship. If Faith wanted a relationship…she wasn't exactly known for her willingness to settle down. But with as drunk as the other girl was, she figured that conversation could wait for another day. Faith snubbed out her cigarette and smiled at Buffy as the blonde slayer stood up and moved to her side. Buffy reached out and gently cupped Faith's face and leaned in to place a gentle kiss on her lips. "I've wanted to do that for a really long time."

Faith smiled and leaned in for another small kiss. "Me too."

Buffy pulled Faith from the window and motioned for her to hold her arms up above her head. Faith did was she was told and smirked when Buffy pulled her shirt up over her head. "All you had to do was ask, B."

Buffy shook her head and pulled a worn tee shirt out of a drawer. She pulled it over Faith's head and moved her hands to her belt buckle. Once she got Faith into some pajama pants, she guided her to the bed and got her settled under the covers. She changed into a similar outfit and slid into bed with Faith.

"What are you doing?" Faith asked drunkenly.

Buffy shushed her and slid up close to the other slayer. "I just want us to be close tonight. Is that okay?"

Faith nodded mutely and kissed her again. She couldn't remember the last time she had been this happy and it only got better when Buffy wrapped her arms around her and she drifted off to sleep.

//

Xander pushed his way through the roof access door and smiled when he saw Buffy and Faith sitting on the swing smoking. Buffy was sitting with her legs crossed under her facing Faith and they both looked up and smiled when they saw him approach with a smile on his face.

"Hey, Xand, how was the date?" Buffy asked.

He shrugged with a shy smile. "It was good."

Faith raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Really? When are you guys going out again?"

"Monday night," he replied, looking genuinely happy. He suddenly noticed that Buffy had a hand on Faith's arm and her thumb was making little circles on her skin. When he looked closer he realized that the two of them were practically sitting on top of each other on the swing. He pointed between the two of them, a curious smile on his face. "Is there something going on here that I don't know about?"

The two girls exchanged a smile and Faith dropped her head while Buffy met her friend's eyes. "Xand, me and Faith are together."

His brain suddenly went on overload as images of the two slayers doing naughty things to his brain and it set his manly parts tingling. He shook his head and smiled. "Wait, you're kidding, right?"

They both shook their heads and Buffy grasped Faith's hand gently. "No kidding," Buffy told him softly.

"Are you okay with this, X?" Faith asked looking up, praying she would get the blessing of Buffy's two best friends.

Xander shook his head to clear it a bit and he smiled. "Of course. But, Faith if you hurt Buffy I'll get her to kick your ass since I obviously can't," he told her with a wink.

Faith gave him a grateful simile as he sat down in one of the lounge chairs and was about to delve into all the questions he had. Suddenly Cordelia came bursting through the door with Dawn following behind her. The two girls smiled at the other roof occupants. "Did we miss something?"

"Buffy and Faith are together…as in together," he told Cordelia with a grin.

She rolled her eyes at his obvious man giddiness and smiled at the two slayers. "See? I told you he'd be easy."

He slumped down and gave the slayers a look. "Am I always the last to know everything?"

Buffy shook her head. "Giles still doesn't know."

"Can I be there when you tell him?" Xander asked with a smile. "That would be neat."

The slayers exchanged a glance and both rolled their eyes at the man.

//

The entire gang sat around Slayer Central one night playing cards and drinking once the slayers were home from patrol. Buffy and Faith spent most of the night shooting smoldering looks across table at each other over their cards. Buffy spent most of the night trying to figure out how, without saying a word, Faith managed to tell her that she was ready to fuck her on the table any minute now.

As cute as she found the slayer love to be, Cordelia had to supress much of her eye rolling and gagging at the behavior of the little lovesick puppies she was seated with. Not only the two slayers, but Xander and his slayer were being lovey dovey and moon-eyed as well. They fed each other popcorn and held hands under the table and if she hadn't been so annoyed at herself for putting her mission first and love life second, she would almost think it was cute. She wanted her friends to be happy after all.

"Buff, come on, it's your turn," Willow told her friend with a smile.

The slayer was startled, almost as if she had been caught doing something wrong and she blushed, for the ninth time that game. "Sorry," she mumbled as she tossed some plastic chips into the pot.

"Poker in prison is so much different," Faith mumbled absently. "This is so much better than gambling for soap."

Cameron looked up from her cards and stared at Faith for a moment. "You were in prison?" she asked quietly, as though someone might overhear and take Faith back or something equally absurd.

Faith looked up, her eyebrows high on her forehead; like she'd forgotten it wasn't just the gang that lived that part of her history with her in the room at the moment. "Yeah…it was a thing. Ya know, slayer power comes in handy when the big berthas are after your ass in the yard." Faith gave her a grin and a wink, trying to pass it off as no big deal around Cameron.

Buffy saw out of the corner of her eye that Xander nudged his girlfriend's arm lightly and shook his head ever so slightly, telling the girl to drop it. What Buffy was really focused on was her own girlfriend. She had noticed in the passing weeks that any time anyone mentioned Faith's stint in prison, the dark slayer would laugh nervously, make a bad joke and move on as if it hadn't been mentioned. Now, to the normal person it would seem normal, like something most people wouldn't really talk much about, but to Buffy, who made it a point to get to know every expression, every face, every shadow that passed on that face and to know exactly what they meant, what she saw in Faith's eyes told her what was really going on. Every time her stay in prison was mentioned, Faith got a scary, hollow look in her eyes that Buffy couldn't help but worry about. She had tried unsuccessfully to coax information out of her girlfriend when they were alone together but the other girl wouldn't budge. She would simply laugh it off with the same bad jokes and move on to something else.

"Well, I'm out," Faith announced as Willow raked in a huge pot of Faith's chips. "I'm gonna smoke, B, you wanna come with?"

Buffy nodded silently and handed her chips to Dawn, who grinned and shuffled the cards. She grabbed two fresh beers from the fridge and followed Faith up the stairs, keeping her eyes trained on the slender frame of her girlfriend as they walked. She reminded herself yet again how lucky she was that she had Faith in her life.

The two girls landed rather ungracefully on the swing on the roof, Faith pulling a pack of cigarettes from her pocket and lighting two, handing one to Buffy as she took a beer from her other hand. They sat silently for a few minutes, just enjoying each other and the silence of the night.

"I can't believe I said that in front of her," Faith groaned as she snubbed out her cigarette and lit a new one.

Buffy remained quiet for a few moments, not sure if the other girl would continue, but when she didn't she knew it was time for some damage control. "Faith, she doesn't care that you were in prison."

"How do you know?" Faith asked.

Buffy shrugged. "Xander would never be with someone that shallow and judgmental." They both sat and immediately thought of Anya, who loved to judge others for what they had done. "Well, he wouldn't anymore."

Faith smiled, and Buffy noticed it really didn't quite reach her eyes. "Today isn't that anniversary day is it?" Buffy asked softly, moving to pull Faith into her arms.

"It's tomorrow," she replied with a shrug, loving that Buffy was holding her so close.

Buffy nodded and gave her girlfriend a little extra squeeze and a gentle kiss to her neck. "Is that why you've been so quiet the last few days?"

Faith shrugged again. "I've just been thinkin' a lot."

"About tomorrow?" she asked.

"About a lot of things," she replied softly. "Prison was really bad, B."

Buffy froze, she'd never heard Faith willingly speak about her time locked up and she was desperately hoping Faith wouldn't shut down on her now.

"I had to be really careful, because there were a lotta people that wanted a piece of me when I got there and they weren't too happy when I didn't want a piece back. I got in a few fights when I first got in," Faith told her as a shiver passed through her slender frame. "The guards didn't like the fact that I sent a few girls to the hospital ward and I was left without a scratch. They worried that I was gonna fight them and they wanted to be sure I knew they were the ones in charge." She paused a moment to take a slow drag of her cigarette, allowing wisps of smoke to seep from her lips. "They paid me a few visits to drive the point home. See, the guards wanted a piece of me too…so did their nightsticks apparently."

The full implications of Faith's statement took a moment to sink in and Buffy was nearly sick with guilt. It had been her that made the other slayer go to jail, it was her fault that Faith had been subject to abuse and she hated herself more than she'd ever hated anyone before. "Faith, I'm so sorry. I never should have made you go."

Faith shook her head and turned to the other girl, kissing her lightly on the lips. "I needed to go. I had to prove to myself that I could be…not crazy. I made myself go. You know as well as me that I coulda left; I coulda escaped any time I wanted. I made myself stay."

Buffy lit another cigarette and the two sat in silence, each mulling over their own thoughts. Faith was beginning to get a stomachache. She had never been this honest with anyone in her life and it was making her nervous that Buffy knew so much about her. She knew the other girl would never use anything against her, but she couldn't help but worry.

"Ready for bed?" Faith asked as she stood, holding a hand out to Buffy. The blonde took the extended hand and stood as well, allowing Faith to lead her back downstairs. When they arrived back in the common room it was deserted and all the lights were off and bedroom doors closed. Faith led them both to her room, tugging on Buffy's hand reassuringly when the other slayer hesitated at the door. Faith closed the door behind them and moved to the stereo, turning on some mellow trance music to sleep to. She cracked the window open slightly and took in a deep breath when a trickle of cold air reached her nose.

She turned and that's when she noticed Buffy hadn't moved from her spot near the door. Faith approached her slowly and reached for the hem of Buffy's sweater. She slowly pulled the garment from the other slayer's body and tossed it aside. Her hands sought out the buckle on Buffy's belt and a moment later, there was a puddle of denim at Buffy's feet. Faith took the time to shed the jacket she'd been wearing and slid her own jeans down her slender legs. She reached out to grasp her girlfriend's hand and led them both to bed.

"I love you, B," Faith whispered quietly once they were settled in bed.

Buffy smiled widely and pulled her into a deep kiss. "I love you too."

Faith smiled and felt her heart warm and pulled the blonde into her arms where she remained the rest of the night.

//

A.N. I know, finally, right? It's about time they got some love going. Thanks for reading and please let me know if you're liking this one…I've noticed interest seems to be dropping off a bit…or is that just my imagination? Either play please let me know what you thought! 3


	11. Here we connect

A.N. Super quick, super short update…but it's necessary with the stuff that's coming after this. I promise the next chapter will have a nice, fat payoff for all the fans of Fuffy and the fans of the friendships I've been carefully crafting over these last few chapters. Enjoy!

//

"What the hell happened to you last night?" Kennedy asked as Faith pushed through the door of the roof.

Faith plunked down on the swing and lit a cigarette. "Nothin'. Me and B sat up here for a while and then went to bed."

Kennedy suddenly smirked. "Went to bed, huh?"

Faith shot her a sidelong glance and nodded. "Yeah, ya know, that thing ya sleep on?"

"Oh, so you went to sleep, not to bed," Kennedy clarified.

"Whatever you say, kid."

"So have you two gone to bed?" Kennedy asked slyly.

Faith raised an eyebrow. "Ken, I just told you we went to bed last night."

"And I just told you that you went to sleep, not to bed," Kennedy shot back, annoyed that Faith wasn't catching on.

Faith rolled her eyes. "No. We've slept together, but not _slept_ together."

"I thought you were usually one to make quick kind of moves in times like these," Kennedy said with a smile.

Faith shook her head. "She's different."

"So you want it to be special," Kennedy stated more than asked.

The older slayer nodded and sat silently for a moment just smoking. "I want to be everything for her. I want to give her the world."

"I know the feeling," Kennedy told her softly thinking about Willow.

"I've never felt it before," Faith mumbled. "It's scary."

"It's love," Kennedy grinned.

"I guess it is," Faith replied quietly. "Whatever the hell it is…it's terrifying."

"You love it," Kennedy shot back with a grin. "Just a bit, right?"

"A bit," Faith answered in spite of herself. The truth was, she did love it. She loved that after years of pain and horror and drama and sacrifice that she got to love the one person she'd ever loved and that person loved her back. It was liberating and cathartic and horribly scary.

"Relax," Kennedy told her a moment later. "I can smell your brain frying from here."

"What if I fuck this up?" Faith suddenly asked.

Kennedy slapped her on the arm. "What the hell, Faith. I thought we went through this already."

Faith sat up a bit straighter and her face grew more serious. "Ken, I'm not kiddin'. What if I mess something up and she hates me. How can we lead an army if she hates me."

Kennedy met her eyes evenly and Faith found an ounce of comfort in that. "Faith, you'll be fine. Just love her and let her love you and it will work out. You two are destined to be together."

"Ya think?" Faith asked a moment later.

"Definitely," Kennedy replied with a smile.

"Thanks," Faith mumbled quietly. She raised her eyes to meet the younger slayers' and smiled genuinely.

Kennedy grinned and nodded her head. "No problem."

"Destined to be together," Faith whispered into the wind. She smiled, liking the sound of that.

//

"Dammit!" Buffy exclaimed as she looked around the table at her friends all laughing holding their spoons.

"For a slayer, you're awfully slow," Cordelia told her, pointing her spoon at her. "Now drink."

"Bossy when she's winning," Kennedy noted with a smile as she arranged the spoons on the table once more.

"Bossy when she's breathing," Willow teased a second later.

"Hey," Cordelia protested with a playful frown.

"Relax, C," Faith told her and handed her a shot. "Take this and you'll forget all about it."

"No I won't," Cordelia warned as she narrowed her eyes playfully at the redhead and her girlfriend seated across from her. But she took the shot and grinned anyways. "That was good."

"I know," Faith replied with a smirk. "B loves those." She watched as Buffy downed her shot too for being the loser of that round of spoons.

Faith cupped Buffy's chin from behind as the blonde leaned back for a kiss. Faith set them all up again with shots and the next round of spoons commenced with Willow being the last to grab hers.

"I'm starving," Buffy announced a few rounds later. "Faith I'm hungry." She looked at the brunette slayer next to her and stuck her bottom lip out in a pout.

Faith laughed and kissed the protruding lip. "Don't pout, B."

"You can't resist the pout though," Buffy told her with a silly grin.

"Pancakes?" Dawn asked before she gagged at her sister's lovey-dovey behavior. She smiled when everyone perked up.

"I'll help," Cordelia told her, standing as well and heading for the kitchen area.

She and Dawn set about making the pancake batter in silence. As the pan heated up Cordelia turned to the younger girl. "Are you okay with Buffy and Faith being together?"

Dawn looked up with surprised eyes and nodded. "Of course."

Cordelia studied her for a moment as she dropped the first batch in the pan. "Are you sure?"

Dawn nodded with a smile, not looking up. "I really am. Buffy hasn't been this happy since…well she's never been this happy. Faith gets her."

Cordelia nodded. "I just can't help but feel like you're sad about something."

Dawn was silent for a stretch of moments. "I guess I just see everyone else connecting with someone and the fact that I haven't…really ever, not since Tara anyways. It just kind of makes me wonder if it's something about being the Key that makes me different."

Cordelia frowned and reached out to pull the younger girl into her arms. "Dawn, sweetie, you're not different." She pulled back and caught the other girl's eyes. "It's just your Summers blood that makes you more cautious about opening up to people. But you have me and Xander and Willow and Faith and Kennedy and Giles and Buffy of course. You have lots of connections."

Dawn nodded but still looked a bit melancholy. "I guess I just want to connect with one special someone."

"Don't we all," Cordelia told her with a wistful grin.

Dawn smiled fully at that and the two continued making their late night snack that were all the rave with the drunks once they were ready and suddenly Dawn had never felt more connected. She glanced across the table where Cordelia was watching her carefully and the older girl gave her a tender smile and a wink. In that moment, she knew she'd be okay.

//

A.N. Okay, I know it's quick and short but I needed a transition for the next part cause it's kind of long. Please let me know if you liked it. Thanks for reading!!


	12. Here we go again

A.N. Here's a quick update. I'm being good today and updating two stories so I hope you enjoy this section of this one. Thanks for all the reviews and thanks for reading! Enjoy!

//

Buffy pulled Faith down closer to her and kissed her deeply. "Mmm, Faith, I need you now."

Faith smiled and kissed Buffy back, rolling them over so the other girl was hovering above her. Her hands began to wander under the hem of Buffy's shirt and her fingers gripped the material and pulled it over her head quickly.

Buffy leaned in and kissed her quickly. "I love you."

Faith smiled and sat up with Buffy straddling her hips. "I love you too, B."

Buffy grinned and pulled Faith's shirt over her head before the brunette pulled her back down again. They rolled over slowly and Buffy pulled her in for a slow, languid kiss and wrapped her legs around Faith's waist.

Suddenly Faith stopped and sat up abruptly. She shook her head and looked around for a moment before getting up from the bed quickly. Buffy sat up and looked at her with a confused face. "Faith?"

The younger slayer held out a hand and stepped back a step. "I can't, B."

Buffy felt a panic seep through her entire being and she searched for her shirt. "Faith, what's wrong?"

Faith shook her head and pulled her jeans up over her legs and grabbed for her shirt before she could get her jeans done up. She pulled the bedroom door open and did her best to ignore the looks she was getting from the rest of the gang as she pulled her shirt on. Kennedy, Willow and Cordelia all exchanged looks before Kennedy took off after Faith who was still working on getting her jeans done up as she waited for the elevator.

Cordelia moved to the doorway of Buffy's room, Willow trailing behind her. "Buffy? What happened?"

Buffy shook her head and bit back tears as she pulled her shirt on slowly and got up from the bed. "I don't know. We were…ya know, and then she just sat up and said she couldn't."

Xander and Willow moved to either side of the slayer and Cordelia took the chance to head out after the other two slayers. She headed downstairs and once she was outside it only took a second to find the other girls. She could hear Kennedy calling out for Faith to wait up and apparently she was being ignored. Cordelia recognized that they were headed towards the lake and she jogged a bit to keep up.

By the time she caught up with them, Faith was sitting at the end of the dock with Kennedy just sitting down next to her. Her nostrils were assaulted suddenly as Faith lit a cigarette and she sighed before sitting on the other side of Faith.

"That was one hell of a peep show you gave us back there. Wanna tell us what happened?" she asked softly.

The slayer turned and gave her a look before she shook her head and handed her a cigarette as well. "I can't yet. Let's just sit a minute."

Cordelia shared a pained smile with Kennedy and the three girls just sat silently until Faith was ready to talk.

"I panicked," she told her two friends quietly.

Kennedy exchanged a confused look with Cordelia over Faith's head. "Sorry, what?"

Faith shook her head and clenched her jaw. "I panicked…back there, with B."

Cordelia gave her a disbelieving look. "You panicked in bed? Is that even possible?"

Faith shot her a half-hearted glare and sighed heavily. "I was just as shocked as you are."

Cordelia cocked her head and blew out a stream of smoke. "What happened?"

Faith shook her head and sighed heavily. "This is gonna sound completely stupid considering the way I used to be."

Kennedy nudged her a bit. "Faith, people can change and you've changed a lot. It's okay."

The slayer nodded. "I've let her into my head. I think about her all the time and I really can't do much without thinkin' about if she'd like something or not like it or whatever." She paused and took a drag, blowing out the smoke slowly. "I gave her my heart. I love her more than any other person I've ever loved. I know I can't live without her." She paused again as her chin quivered. She bowed her head and bit back her tears as Cordelia slipped an arm around her shoulders. "I thought givin' her my body would be the easy part. I never cared who I was with before and now I'm fucking terrified."

Cordelia felt her heartstrings tug a bit for her friend and she rubbed comforting circles on her back with the palm of her hand. "Faith, honey, maybe you just know that giving her your body would mean that you've given her everything you can give."

Kennedy nodded. "Yeah, Faith, this is totally understandable. It's only natural that you're freaking out a bit."

Cordelia smiled. "Actually when you think about it like that, I'm kind of surprised this didn't happen earlier."

Faith looked to her right, then to her left, looking hopeful. "So you don't think I'm emotionally retarded?"

"Of course you are," Cordelia replied with a grin. "But when it comes to love stuff and freaking out about love stuff, you're totally normal."

Faith dropped her head again. "I've never really been in love before."

Kennedy smiled. "Well, then it's even more understandable that you freaked out."

Cordelia nodded. "Faith, Buffy loves you in a crazy way. That girl would do just about anything for you, and she would _not_ do just about anything for you. Don't rush into anything that you're not ready for."

Faith frowned. "I want to be ready, but I don't know if I am yet."

Kennedy shook her head. "If you're not sure, you're not ready. Trust me, when you're ready, you just know. And Buffy will wait."

Faith shook her head and stood up, pulling both girls with her. "Never in a million years did I think I would be the one not ready to sleep with her. I always figured she'd be the one freaking out about something like only she can."

They started walking back to the dorms and suddenly Faith started to worry more and more. "What am I supposed to say to her when we get back?"

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Faith, just tell her that you're sorry that you ran out on her, but you freaked out about getting close faster than you were ready for. Tell her that you love her and you want to share all of yourself with her, but you just need to go slow. She loves you so she'll understand."

Kennedy gave her a nod and linked their arms. "Yeah. And if she doesn't, tell her to come see me."

The other two girls smiled and rolled their eyes as they made their way back to the dorms.

//

Faith froze when she saw Buffy sitting at the table with her oldest friends on either side. She felt her heart speed up and her palms get sweaty, but she took a deep breath and moved closer to Buffy.

"Can we talk?" she asked quietly.

Buffy considered making things really tough on Faith for running out on her, but when she saw the look on Faith's face, she just couldn't do it. She nodded and stood up. "Yeah."

The younger slayer looked relieved as she looked back to their friends one last time before shutting the bedroom door. She shook her head when she saw Kennedy give her an encouraging smile and Cordelia give her two thumbs up.

She turned and watched as Buffy sat in the window to smoke and she decided to join her. They were quiet a few minutes until Faith finally spoke up. "Sorry I ran off, B."

Buffy nodded. "Are you gonna tell me what happened?"

She dropped her head down. "I panicked."

Buffy's face fell and she reached out to cup Faith's chin, lifting her head so she could meet the other girl's eyes. "Honey, why?"

Faith shrugged. "I think because I knew that once I gave you my body, you had all of me and nobody has ever had all of me."

Buffy felt her heart break a bit for Faith and she pulled the younger girl into a warm hug. "Aw, Faith, all you had to do was tell me and I would have stopped. I had no idea."

Faith shrugged. "I should have told you. I just figured you expected sex and if I didn't do it, you'd leave."

Buffy looked shocked and she shook her head. "Faith, no. I don't expect anything. I hope that we can be totally intimate one day, but if that day isn't today or tomorrow or next week or next month, I won't love you any less and I certainly won't leave."

Faith suddenly broke down into tears and Buffy pulled her close. "It's okay. Don't cry."

She held Faith close for a few minutes as she cried and she felt better now that she knew why the other girl left in a hurry, but she knew she had to get something straight. "Faith, I understand that you freaked out. I understand why you feel the way you do. Just next time, stay and talk to me."

Faith pulled away and bowed her head. "I know. Sometimes I let my emotions get to me first and I need a few minutes to think and then talk."

Buffy nodded and reached a hand out to tuck a few errant locks from Faith's face. "Honey, I get it. Next time just tell me to wait, then go smoke for a few minutes, then talk to me."

Faith looked up and met her eyes. She gave Buffy a small smile. "I will. I promise."

//

A.N. I know, it's short, but sweet, right? Anyways, hope you liked it and please let me know what you thought. Thanks for reading. More to come soon!


	13. Here it comes

A.N. I know, it's been forever…but here's the next part of this one. Thanks for sticking with this one and I hope you enjoy it!

P

"Make sure the girls know that the snow won't be stopping any time soon." Faith was only partially listening to Buffy's conversation from the couch where she and Cordelia were watching trashy reality TV.

"So glad Vi is taking the shift tonight," Faith mumbled with a grin as she finished her beer and stood up. "Want another?" she asked Cordelia.

"Sure," she replied.

Buffy hung up the phone and moved to the window, looking up at the sky and then down to the foot of snow already on the ground. "Having baby slayers is so nice. Now we finally get to take all the snowy nights off and let them go instead."

"Yeah, all those snowy nights in SoCal were a bitch," Cordelia teased with a grin.

Buffy mock glared and kissed Faith when the other slayer handed her a beer and pulled her towards the couch. "You know what I mean."

"So what's up with you and Council Boy?" Buffy asked Cordelia once the three of them were settled.

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "I somehow manage to attract the biggest pansies on the planet. We went to dinner last week and we were downtown and a vamp came from out of nowhere and tried to eat us and he shrieked like a little girl and ran the other way." She paused. "He's a _watcher_. He's supposed to be training pre-pubescent girls how to fight these things? Please."

The slayers shared a grin and all three girls looked up when the door opened and Xander entered the top floor living quarters. "Hey, girls."

"Hey, Xand," Buffy greeted with a wave.

"You guys wanna have some drinks then have a snowball fight?" Faith suddenly asked with a grin.

"I'm in," Cordelia replied.

"That could be fun," Xander nodded.

"B?" Faith asked.

Buffy smiled and nodded silently and she kept her eyes on the dark slayer as she stood and busied herself making drinks and pouring shots. Everyone gathered around the table for their shots and then headed into their rooms to get snow ready.

Half an hour later the gang was standing in the lobby waiting for Faith. The elevator doors opened and the slayer hopped off and headed for the group.

"You guys ready?" she asked with a grin.

"Teams?" Xander asked.

Faith nodded. "B and Ken, X and Red on one team and me, Cam, C and little D on the other?"

"That's fair," Buffy agreed. "Two slayers per team."

"Should we make it a bit more interesting and add some capture the flag to this little snowy adventure of ours?" Xander asked.

"Definitely," Cameron replied, exchanging an excited look with Kennedy.

"Okay, B's team is blue, mine is red, you get the flag back to your base first you win," Faith explained. "If you get hit with a snowball you sit for 20 seconds and if you have the flag you have to give it up."

"Cool," Kennedy agreed.

"No tackling non-slayers," Buffy ordered the two younger girls, pointing a finger at them both.

"But slayers are fair game," Faith told with a feral grin aimed at Buffy.

"Got it," Cameron said with a smile.

"Cam, want to get the flags from the gym?" Faith asked.

"Sure, Boss," Cameron agreed before running off towards the gym.

Faith checked her watch. "Ten minutes to set up a fort, then it's a free for all. First one back to their base with enemy flag wins. Andrew's watching on the security cams."

"We'll take the East side," Buffy told her.

Faith nodded. "We'll take West."

"See ya in ten," Buffy replied and winked with a mock salute.

P

Buffy closed her eyes and focused her senses entirely on what she heard around her. When she didn't hear anything she opened them again and moved forward cautiously. She looked to her right where Kennedy was prowling about 40 yards away. The younger slayer shook her head and Buffy gave her a nod to continue and made a motion with her hand to spread out more.

Buffy continued forward and moved further away from Kennedy as she proceeded forward towards Faith's base. When she finally caught sight of the base it appeared to be completely unguarded and she straightened and moved forward with less caution. She kept her senses focused on everything around her as she approached the base and found that the flag was sitting in plain sight and was totally unguarded. She heard footsteps nearby and her head snapped up to see Kennedy approaching slowly and cautiously.

"Where are they?" Kennedy asked.

Buffy proceeded forward and reached out to grasp the flag. "Probably behind us waiting to ambush us."

"You know me so well," Faith's voice rang out behind her and Buffy suddenly felt a snowball hit her squarely in the back.

"Get the flag," Buffy yelled to Kennedy pointing to the base and she turned back to Faith and took off running towards her.

Faith bent her knees and readied herself for Buffy slamming into her and the two of them flew through the air several feet before rolling to a stop in the snow. Both slayers were laughing hysterically as they wrestled in the snow for dominance.

"I hate to tell you this," Faith started with a laugh, "But you lose, B."

Buffy stopped and sat up looking around and saw Cameron standing nearby with the blue flag in her hand and the rest of Faith's team behind her. Suddenly there was a barrage of snowballs around them and everyone was laughing and running around like kids.

Buff found Faith once the fight was over and smiled. "How did you win so fast?"

Faith laughed and leaned in to kiss Buffy gently, brushing some snow off her coat. "Sorry."

"No you're not," Buffy mumbled with a smile as she pulled a clump of snow from Faith's hair.

Faith found herself captivated with Buffy in that moment. The snowflakes in her hair and how her cheeks were pink from the cold. She felt a warmth in her chest that she'd never felt before and her heart skipped a beat when Buffy pulled her in and kissed her languidly.

"Losers shower first by the way," Buffy mumbled with a smile.

Faith laughed and slid an arm around the blonde as they followed the rest of the gang up to Slayer Central. She sighed happily as she listened to everyone recount the battle and how they laughed and teased each other about it. She had never been so happy.

P

When Buffy emerged from the shower she smiled when she saw that Faith had lit several candles around the room, draping them both in soft light.

"What's all this?" Buffy asked.

Faith turned and opened her mouth to respond but caught sight of Buffy and stopped short, her breath caught in her throat.

Buffy smiled when she caught the slightly bewildered expression on the other slayer's face and she moved in close to the brunette and wrapped her arms around her. "This is nice."

Faith leaned in slowly and dropped a kiss to the blonde's lips and smiled. "It's nothing really."

Buffy grinned. "You're just trying to make up for winning the game."

"Maybe a little," Faith admitted softly as she ran her fingers through Buffy's damp hair. She leaned in slowly and her lips found Buffy's neck.

Buffy's jaw slacked slightly and her eyes rolled back as her arms wrapped around the brunette. As Faith's lips continued to tease she found her hands on the hem of Faith's shirt and a moment later it was on the floor next to them. Her hands dropped to Faith's belt buckle and it wasn't long before the brunette's jeans joined her shirt in a pool on the floor leaving her in a bra and boy shorts.

Faith maneuvered them back towards the bed and they tumbled down with Buffy landing on top of her. She pulled the blonde impossibly close and kissed her.

Buffy smiled a moment later when Faith flipped them over and she felt her body instantly react when Faith's full weight came to rest on top of her.

"Faith," Buffy breathed.

"Hmm?" the brunette responded, not pausing her lips' assault on Buffy's neck.

Buffy swallowed hard and her body stilled causing Faith to stop and meet her eyes.

"What's up, B?" Faith asked softly, dropping a kiss to her lips.

Buffy chewed her lip for a moment. "I've just never done this before. With a girl."

Faith grinned. "Me either. But it's okay, B. It's just you and me."

"You and me," Buffy whispered and she suddenly smiled and kissed the brunette. "We're good."

"You sure?" Faith asked quietly.

Buffy nodded and pulled Faith in closer to her, loving the way their bodies fit together so perfectly. Their kisses were soft at first as they were simply content to be close but they quickly grew more impatient as desire took them over and Buffy began shedding more of Faith's clothes.

Faith pulled back enough to rest her forehead to Buffy's and she knew she was about to give the last of herself to the girl beneath her and part of her had always been sure she would be freaking out about it, but in the moment she'd never been so sure of anything.

P

Buffy paused at the door and spotted who she was looking for. She put her head down and ran through the rain, stopping once she was under the awning. She smiled and leaned down, kissing Faith softly. "Hey, you."

Faith smiled and kissed her again quickly. "Hey." She handed her mug of steaming coffee to the blonde and motioned to the seat next to her on the large swing.

Buffy sipped the coffee and grinned, sitting next to Faith and snuggling into her when she felt Faith's arm slide around her shoulders. The two slayers huddled under the blanket and watched the rain. Faith smiled when Buffy rested her head on her shoulder and she leaned over to kiss the top of her head gently.

"How was your training session?" Faith asked quietly a minute later.

Buffy shrugged. "Not bad. Yours?"

Faith smiled. "The girls are green, but they really do try."

Buffy suddenly sat up and faced Faith, her stomach tightening a bit when she could feel Faith's breath on her face. "Wanna take the girls out to train? It could be fun. We could take them through the obstacle course and get all dirty." She gave Faith her best flirty smile. "Then we could take a hot shower when we get back."

Faith let one eyebrow rise and she kissed Buffy languidly. "You wanna take the girls out in this? It's freezing and raining. Why don't we skip that part and just take a hot shower."

"Very tempting." Buffy shook her head and smiled. "You and I both know that we don't always slay in optimal conditions. If they train in the rain and cold, when it's nice out they'll be even better."

Faith paused and thought things over for a minute and she gave Buffy another long kiss. "Well, the best part about gettin' dirty is getting clean."

Buffy felt herself get weak in the knees with Faith's kiss. "I have always found that the buddy system is pretty effective when it comes to getting clean."

Faith grinned wider and she pulled Buffy in close. "You keep talking like that, B and we're not gonna make it off the roof."

Buffy smiled and kissed her quickly, pulling Faith up with her when she stood. "Come on. We have girls to train."

The slayers ran huddled through the rain and got the girls out in the rain. They took the girls in two shifts, Faith running the first and Buffy running the second. The rest of the gang watched from the roof and most of them couldn't help but notice how much fun the two older slayers seemed to be having. Willow kept her eye on Kennedy for most of the race and had to admit she was looking forward to the training to be over for the night. She had also been promised a long, hot shower and was looking forward to it.

Cordelia smiled as the two slayers seemed to have a jump in their step and they were very spirited in their completion of the course. She frowned when they heard one of the girls yell out. They all watched as one of the girls fell from the rope wall. Buffy and Faith immediately ran to the girl and looked over her. They watched as two other slayers, the girl's friends made their way over and assisted the injured slayer to the infirmary. Buffy gave Willow a signal and the gang made their way to the lobby of the dorms with plastic bags and towels.

The girls were each given a bag to put muddy clothes in and a large towel to wrap up in so they wouldn't track mud in through the rest of the dorms. They stripped down to their underwear and wrapped up and made their way back to their rooms. Once all the girls were upstairs the rest of the gang rode up the elevator together to their floor and Cordelia couldn't help but watch the two slayers with a bit of jealousy in her eyes. They seemed to be completely wrapped up in each other and the fact that they were only dressed in towels did little to get them to keep their hands off each other. Willow and Kennedy weren't much better. Apparently Willow was totally turned on by anything having to do with Kennedy being slayery and it was just about enough to make her crazy.

Once they hit their floor, Xander noticed Cameron waiting for him, still in her towel and he made a beeline for his room. Willow and Kennedy headed for their room and Faith and Buffy went to theirs as well. Dawn shook her head and looked to Cordelia who looked kind of down. "You okay?" Dawn asked.

Cordelia shot one last look at Xander's door and opened the fridge and grabbed a beer, twisting the top off and taking a drink. "I feel like getting drunk. You?"

Dawn smiled a little. "I wouldn't mind."

Cordelia narrowed her eyes. "You aren't old enough."

Dawn shrugged and moved past her to the fridge. "Buffy let me drink in Europe."

"Sorry, Dawnie, Buffy will kill me," Cordelia smiled and sat at the table. "How about cards?"

Dawn smiled reluctantly and sat down, but her mood quickly rose as Cordelia began telling funny and embarrassing stories about the Scoobies in high school.

P

Buffy and Faith stood in Faith's room and they clinked their shot glasses together and both took their second shot. Buffy's face soured but she felt instantly warmed as the liquid settled into her belly.

"Better?" Faith asked with a grin.

Buffy smiled and stuck her tongue out. "That was disgusting. But I do feel a bit warmer."

"Oh yeah?" Faith asked with a grin. "How about we warm you up all the way then." She moved into the bathroom and turned the shower on. A moment later, she felt Buffy's arms encircle her waist and she leaned back fully against the other slayer. Buffy trailed a few tender kisses up Faith's neck and paid close attention to the spot right behind her ear. She smiled when she felt Faith shudder under her lips and she snaked a hand under the other slayer's towel and trailed her fingers over Faith's belly.

The younger slayer suddenly turned and pressed Buffy against the closed door. In one quick motion Faith had both their towels on the floor and she began to undress Buffy fully. Buffy's hands began working on Faith's clothes and moments later, they were both being cascaded with tiny kisses of warm water.

Buffy ran her hands through Faith's hair and kissed her hungrily, smiling when she felt Faith press her against the side of the shower. Buffy allowed one hand to slink around Faith's waist to pull her close and she let her other hand travel a bit further south and she smiled when she heard Faith moan, deciding that she liked having a shower buddy.

P

A.N. Thanks for reading…I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you thought!


	14. Here comes trouble

A.N. Okay, here we go…next part for you guys. I hope you enjoy and thanks for sticking with this one!!

P

"So do you know what happens?" Buffy asked quietly. She and Cordelia were on the roof watching Faith run some girls through training drills.

Cordelia looked up from her magazine. "What happens when?"

The slayer gave her a look. "If we don't get our shit together down here."

Cordelia nodded. "I've seen what happens if you and Faith screw this up again if that's what you mean."

Buffy nodded. "Wanna share with the rest of us?"

Cordelia looked around. "We're the only ones here."

"Care to share with me then?" she asked rolling her eyes.

"I'm not sure you want to know," Cordelia replied softly.

"I don't want to know," Buffy admitted sadly. "I need to know."

"Why?" she asked.

Buffy shrugged. "I'm sick and twisted?" she asked with a fake smile, which she dropped quickly. "I just need to know."

"It's basically a fight to the death. You stab Faith, she stabs you, you both nearly bleed to death, both go into comas and both die."

Buffy stared at the other girl in stunned silence for a few moments. "Wow, we can't do anything half assed, can we?"

"You're slayers, sweetheart, I don't think it's in your blood," she replied with a grim smile. The two girls sat quietly. "Buffy, you two have to get it right this time. Everyone's lives depend on this. Words really can't describe how important this is."

Buffy looked at her with a worried expression. "See, now you've made me all nervous and queasy."

"Good," Cordelia replied, completely serious. "You really need to understand how big this is. Everything we've faced before pretty much pales in comparison. Including the First. The outcome of this situation will affect more than you really realize."

Buffy swallowed her nerves and rolled her eyes. "You're just saying that because you want to stick around."

"Of course I do." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You know as well as any of us do that when the forces of good create an army out of thin air, like Willow did, that it changes the rules. You were given this huge gift when you got all these slayers. Don't think that the other side wasn't rewarded too."

Buffy suddenly looked up. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"I'm not saying there's an army of baddies in the sewers right this minute, but yes," she told the slayer, a dark, haunted look in her eyes.

Buffy knew in that moment that she would never forget the look in the other girl's eyes for as long as she lived. "That's what you mean about the slayer line getting wiped out then?"

"You and Faith were the only two slayers that went down into the Hellmouth. I don't know how many crawled out, but you two were the only ones that went in." Cordelia gave Buffy a look to let her know that she was passing on important information. "The potential slayers were following orders, and they didn't know any better. You and Faith knew exactly what you were up against and what the consequences were to going down there. That's what being a slayer is really all about. Knowing what you're up against and knowing the outcome won't always be pretty, but sacrificing your ass to do it anyways."

Buffy took a minute to think about everything the other girl was telling her. "So do you have any idea when I can expect this army to pop up?"

"It won't be any time in the immediate future," Cordelia replied with a smile. "But it will be out there one day and you need to be sure they're ready. The fight against the First will seem like a walk in the park compared to this one."

"So we have to train an army," Buffy stated quietly. "For real this time."

"You really do," Cordelia agreed. "You and Faith are the only ones that can teach these girls what it is to be a slayer. That's the key in all of this, Buffy."

Buffy nodded and met the other girl's eyes. "I get it."

"Are you sure?" Cordelia asked her evenly.

Buffy nodded. "We won't fail."

"Good," the brunette sighed. She felt better knowing Buffy understood the importance of what they were doing with this school. She sighed and clapped her hands together. "Shopping?"

Buffy grinned and nodded and the two took off to get some retail therapy in.

P

Faith twirled her stake in her hand as she wandered a cemetery alone one night. Buffy hadn't been feeling well and wanted to get some rest so Faith told her she'd take the shift and go out and slay for a bit. The night had been relatively slow; only one vamp to speak of and Faith was nearly ready to call it a night when she heard a breath of a whisper call her name.

She stopped dead in her tracks and tilted her head to try to pick up the voice that had just spoken to her and just as she was ready to give up and call it a trick of the imagination, she heard it again. Just a hair louder. She moved towards the direction of the voice and found herself in another part of the cemetery that was darker and more off the beaten path than the part she'd just patrolled. In the distance she could make out the silhouette of a woman leaning against a headstone and she clutched her stake a bit tighter and reached around her back to be sure her knife was still tucked into her belt.

As she got closer the woman turned and Faith wasn't able to make out her face until she was roughly five feet from the woman, though something about her had felt oddly familiar to the slayer since she heard the voice. As she took a few final steps closer, Faith's jaw dropped and her eyes got wide. Her mother was standing directly in front of her smiling. Her very dead mother.

"What are you?" Faith asked, her voice nearly cracking. She prayed it wouldn't betray her.

The woman smiled. "Now, Faithy, is that any way to talk to your mother?"

Faith swallowed hard. "My mother is dead." Without warning, Faith swung her arm to hit the woman, but was met with lightning fast reflexes to block the punch.

"Assuming that was going to go right through me?" the woman asked. "I'm not an old enemy."

"How do you know about the First?" Faith asked lowly.

The woman laughed, and Faith felt a shiver with the familiarity of the bitter sound. "Anyone who's anyone on our side knows about that fiasco."

"You're not my mother," Faith told her.

"No?" she asked. She took a long look at Faith; almost as if she was looking right through her. "I know the song I used to sing to you when I was sober enough to remember I had a child."

"You're lying," Faith spat out, she was starting to shake.

"Hush little baby?" the woman asked with a smirk.

"Good guess," Faith whispered.

The woman smiled wider. "I also know that your worthless stepfather broke your arm when you were seven and you colored your pink cast black."

Faith took a step back and remained silent. The woman's smile turned to a smirk.

"You're going to be the death of them all, Faith," she told the slayer airily. "You alone are going to be responsible for the slayer line being wiped out. Including your little blonde honey."

"Shut up," Faith told the woman lowly.

"You'll watch her die," she continued.

"Shut your damn mouth," Faith told her with more reserve.

"Leave her and she'll survive this," the woman told her.

"Never," Faith replied.

"Then you'll watch everything around you burn." The woman smiled and waved before turning and leaving the cemetery.

Faith dropped to her knees and tried desperately to process everything that had just happened. A moment later, she looked up when she heard a woman scream from a nearby street. She jumped up and ran in the direction of the screaming and she saw a woman getting attacked by a vampire.

She leapt into action and a minute later she was dusting the vamp dust off her pants. The woman watched her wide-eyed for a moment.

"Thank you," the woman told her.

Faith nodded, still shaken from the visit from her mother. "No sweat. You should be careful after dark around here."

"You saved my life," the woman whispered.

"Just get in the car and get home safe," Faith told her absently.

"What's your name?" the woman asked.

"Faith," the slayer replied.

The woman nodded. "Thank you, Faith."

"No sweat," the slayer replied.

"Can I give you a ride?"

Faith shook her head. "Thanks, I'm good."

The woman gave her one last smile and got into her car. She smiled at the slayer once more before driving off quickly.

Faith was left staring at the vamp dust on the ground as it was blown away slowly by the wind around her. She felt her heart racing and her palms sweating and she had no idea what to think about the events of the night. She just wanted to forget about it all. She checked her watch and noted that it was after midnight, which meant that Buffy was probably going to worry about her. She sighed heavily and began the walk back to Slayer Central.

P

A.N. Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you thought!


	15. Here it gets worse

A.N. Thanks for sticking around on this one…enjoy the next part!!

P

Faith was still shaken up by the run-in with her mother in the cemetery by the time she returned to Slayer Central. She practically ignored everyone as she made her way to her bedroom and shut the door behind her. Her hands were shaking as she removed her jacket and shoes. She moved to the bathroom and turned the shower on and locked the door behind her as she stripped down for a hot shower.

Buffy looked up from her makeshift bed on the couch and exchanged a look with Willow once the bedroom door was shut and she moved to Faith's door only to find it locked. She moved to her bedroom and tried to enter through the bathroom, but found the bathroom door locked as well. She was instantly confused since Faith never locked the doors behind her, saying it made her feel claustrophobic.

She knocked on the door. "Faith?" When she didn't get a response, she knocked again. "Babe?" she called out. Her brow furrowed and she turned away from the door, moving back into the common room with the rest of the gang.

Kennedy looked up when she returned. "Is she okay? She looked a little weird."

Buffy shook her head. "I don't know."

Meanwhile, Faith leaned her head against the cool tile under the showerhead and let the warm water cascade down her head and back. Her chin quivered and she shook her head. "Get it together, Faith. Don't let her see you like this."

Twenty minutes later she was sitting on the windowsill smoking when she heard a knock on the door. "Come in."

Buffy entered the room slowly and moved to Faith's side. She lifted a hand to run over Faith's hair, but Faith pulled back instantly.

"Faith? What's going on? You're acting kinda weird." Buffy told her quietly.

Faith shook her head. "I had a nasty run-in with a vamp earlier and I'm still kinda shaken up." Her heart sunk with her lie as Buffy instantly began to fawn all over her. She hated lying to Buffy.

"Oh no, are you okay?" she asked as she did a quick once over. She ran a hand down Faith's arm and was slightly comforted when Faith didn't pull away, but when she looked into Faith's eyes, she was terrified when she saw that Faith was lying to her. She'd seen it before and she didn't think she'd ever see it again, but she knew Faith was lying.

"You're lying to me," she told the other slayer.

Faith shook her head and averted her eyes. "Whatever, B, just leave me alone."

"Why are you lying? What's going on, Faith?" Buffy asked, starting to panic a bit. She knew Faith wouldn't lie unless something bad was going on.

"Nothing, just leave me alone," Faith insisted.

Buffy stood up, hurt and confused and just looked at Faith. "You really want me to go?"

"Yes," Faith told her. Her insides were twisted and she felt like crying. She felt like dying. But she knew she had to let Buffy go to keep her safe. _You'll watch everything around you burn. _ The words hung in her head and she swallowed the lump in her throat.

Buffy took a long look at her and gave a nod of her head. Faith could see tears swimming in her eyes as she backed away and eventually turned to leave the room.

P

Xander and Willow pushed through the door to the roof the next morning and exchanged a worried glance. Willow clutched the newspaper to her chest and approached the slayer slowly.

Buffy looked up when she saw her two best friends approach. "Hey guys. What's up? Why so glum?"

Xander and Willow exchanged another look and Willow handed the newspaper over. "Something bad happened last night."

Buffy looked from one friend to the other. "What happened?"

Xander pointed to the paper she held in her hand. "An innocent man was killed last night."

Willow glanced down at the ground. "They're saying it was a girl that did it."

Buffy glanced down at the paper and skimmed over the article. "Who was the girl?"

Willow shook her head. "A slayer, we think."

Buffy's heart sank and her throat constricted. "How do you know?"

"He was stabbed in the heart and they found pieces of wood in the wound," Xander replied.

"Was she one of ours or someone we haven't found yet?" Buffy asked quietly.

"Pretty sure she was ours," Willow replied with a frown. She exchanged a worried glance with Xander.

"How do you know?" Buffy asked, still trying to deny what her brain was telling her.

Willow and Xander exchanged another long look. "The police said it was a young woman, about 5'5", brunette, leather pants," Willow told her softly.

"You don't think?" Buffy asked, but stopped before the full thought was out.

"Faith?" Xander asked. "Let's really hope not."

"Can't be," Buffy told them, shaking her head.

"She was wearing leather pants last night," Willow told her gently.

"So was Kennedy," Buffy argued, not wanting to believe what her friends were telling her.

"Yeah, but Kennedy hasn't killed anyone before," Willow shot back, upset with the whole situation and taking it out on Buffy.

Buffy was suddenly furious. "So what? Does that mean that Faith automatically did it?"

Xander placed a hand on both girls' shoulders and shook his head. "Let's take a step back here. Faith was acting weird last night."

"So that automatically means she killed someone?" Buffy asked incredulously.

"No, but we should talk to her," Xander told her.

"Have fun," Buffy told him.

"You aren't coming?" Willow asked.

Buffy shook her head, still incredibly pissed off. "No. She would tell us if something happened."

"Like she did last time? She tried to pin it on you, Buff," Xander told her gently. "Then she tried to kill us. Are you forgetting that?"

"She didn't do it," Buffy insisted. Her insides were in knots as she thought about the way Faith had acted the night before. Just like she had after Finch. It just hurt way too much to think about.

"We'll go find her," Xander told Buffy as he pointed over his shoulder towards the door.

"Good luck with that," Buffy told him.

Willow watched Xander back away a few steps before turning and heading for the door. She gave the slayer a sympathetic smile. "We'll get to the bottom of this, Buff."

The slayer nodded. "Thanks."

Buffy watched as Willow turned as well and headed off after Xander to find Faith. She just prayed that history wasn't about to repeat itself.

P

Kennedy turned a corner frantically, nearly knocking over some of the new slayers. She spotted Buffy down the hall and waved a hand in the air. "Buffy!"

The older slayer turned around and her brow furrowed when she saw the younger slayer barreling down the hall after her. "Kennedy, what's wrong? You're scaring the girls."

Kennedy shook her head and took a breath. "It's Faith. Hurry, come on."

Buffy's heart dropped. "Ken, what's wrong with Faith?"

She shook her head and pulled Buffy along with her. "She's being arrested."

Buffy's face went white and a moment later they took off down the halls towards Faith. When they arrived in the lobby Faith was being led out the door in handcuffs. The dark slayer heard fast falling footsteps approach and looked over and caught Buffy's eye.

"Hey! What the hell is going on?" Buffy called out as she moved closer.

Giles stepped forward and held his hands up. "Buffy, calm down." He turned to Faith. "Faith! Don't say a word, we'll follow you there." He turned back to his slayer. "The Council will take care of this." He caught Buffy's eye. "Only if you keep your mouth shut and let me handle it."

Buffy shot him a murderous glare and rolled her eyes. "Fine."

She took a deep breath and watched as Faith was being led away. She was suddenly seeing red when she noticed the cop leading her away was getting a little rough with her. She took a step forward but was stopped suddenly when Kennedy held her back, noticing the murderous look in her eye. "Giles, he's gonna lose a limb if he doesn't get off her."

Giles turned and his eyes narrowed as he watched the same cop. He approached quickly and stepped in front of the officer. He leaned his head in close and whispered something in the cop's ear, looking more and more Ripper-esque by the minute. Buffy smiled when the cop stammered and loosened his grip on the other slayer and she smiled at Faith when she turned for one more look at her.

"How is this happening, Giles?" Buffy asked as they made their way downstairs to the car. Kennedy and Willow followed closely behind.

"They know who we are and what we do, Buffy," he told her as he pushed through the door. "They came here with a picture because they have her on camera."

"No!" she yelled, stopping short. She glanced around and noticed everyone looking at her strangely. "I'm sorry, but it's not possible." She shook her head and her eyes suddenly landed on Andrew and she waved frantically at him. "Andrew!"

He turned and made his way over to her quickly. "Buffy, what's going on?"

"Andrew, they're arresting Faith for something she didn't do. I need to you to go through your surveillance from Friday night and find Faith. Get us proof that Faith wasn't at the scene of the murder that night."

Andrew suddenly understood and he nodded solemnly. "I'll get on it right away."

She smiled. "Thanks." He nodded and ran off towards the basement to begin his task as Giles, Buffy, Kennedy and Willow exited the front of the Council and made heir way to the police station.

P

A.N. Haha…hope you enjoyed this part…more to come soon. Please review!! Thanks for reading!


	16. Here it gets better

A.N. Enjoy!

P

The girls had been waiting for nearly an hour while Giles was in talking with the Police Chief when Buffy got a call from Andrew.

Kennedy and Willow listened as she talked to him for a few minutes before hanging up, smiling. "Andrew has her on camera on the other side of town at the time of the murder."

"How?" Willow asked. "They have her on camera too, Buff." She didn't want her friend to get her hopes up too much.

"Will, we have the most sophisticated technology out there right now and you know it. Andrew spent a fortune on that stuff. He says he has her on one of the slayer cams on the other side of town. Who would you rather believe, the cops or Andrew?"

Giles emerged before Willow could answer and Buffy made a beeline for him to fill him in on the news Andrew had just given her.

"Buffy, I've seen their evidence. The footage is grainy at best, but it does appear to be Faith on the tape killing that man. I don't know what to tell you, I'm sorry," he told her gently, hating that he had to give her such bad news.

"Giles, I don't understand how it's possible that they have her on camera killing this guy and we have her on camera in the cemetery across town at the exact same time. Someone has to be wrong," Buffy told him with a deep frown.

Giles shook his head and removed his glasses, cleaning them quickly. "There must be some sort of explanation for what we're both seeing."

"We're all thinking the same thing, I don't understand why nobody's saying it," Kennedy told them firmly. Once everyone's eyes were trained on her she continued. "What if the First is back?"

"No," Buffy told her a little too forcefully. The First coming back was her worst nightmare, she refused to believe it.

"It can't be the First anyways," Willow told her gently. When Kennedy's betrayed eyes landed on her she held her hands up. "Faith never died."

Kennedy opened her mouth to retort, but her expression softened when she realized that the First not being back was really good news. Then she frowned again when she realized they still had no idea what was going on. "Well, it has to be something."

Giles sighed. "Willow, Kennedy, why don't you both go back to the Council and get everyone started on some research into what might be dong this. Buffy call Andrew and have him bring us his footage and anything else he might have to help prove Faith's innocence."

All the girls nodded and when the other two left Buffy looked up to Giles. "Can I see her?"

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'll see what I can do. You call Andrew and tell him to hurry up."

She smiled warmly and hugged him. She didn't know what she would do without him. Buffy moved to a more private corner of the station to make her call and when she returned to Giles he pointed at an officer standing nearby.

"You have five minutes," Giles told her softly.

She gave him a grateful smile and nodded. "Andrew said he'd be here in fifteen."

Buffy was led back through the station and into a small interrogation room where she saw Faith sitting at a table in the middle of the room. Faith stood up and moved towards Buffy quickly, Buffy pulling her into a warm comforting hug as soon as she was close enough.

"Faith, don't say a word about anything." She felt the younger girl stiffen. "They can see us and they can hear us, so just don't say a word." Faith instantly relaxed in her arms. She pulled back and they both took a seat at the table. "Andrew has you on a slayer cam on the other side of town that night right before midnight. Faith, we know you didn't do it. There's no way you could be on our camera and their camera across town."

Faith suddenly let out a breath and held her hands up to her face. Buffy watched as Faith began to sob under her hands. She moved closer and knelt in front of the other girl. "Faith, sweetie, what's wrong?"

Faith let her hands fall and she looked around, reminding Buffy that they were being watched. "I just want to go home."

Buffy knew, she knew by the look in her eyes, she knew by the tone of her voice, that there was much more to Faith's tears than wanting to go home, but she didn't say a word. She squeezed Faith's hand and turned when the officer opened the door. She gave Faith a reassuring smile and a quick kiss. "You'll be able to go soon. I promise."

Faith smiled at her, but nearly growled when she noticed the way the officer was looking at them both. She wanted to jump up and strangle him and her face must have deceived her because the officer looked spooked when he glanced at her.

Faith suddenly thought of something and leaned forward. "B, I saved a woman that night. She got attacked by a vamp getting into her car. Find her and I've got a solid alibi."

Buffy nodded excitedly and smiled. "Okay, I need details and we'll track her down."

Faith smiled gratefully and leaned forward as well to give as much detail as she could in the few short minutes they had together.

P

Faith stepped out of the building and rubbed her wrists. She hated handcuffs. She squinted in the bright morning sun and smiled as Buffy wrapped an arm around her waist and led her to the car.

"Your karma certainly seems to be coming back around for all the lives you've saved," Giles told her with a smile.

"Seriously," Kennedy agreed. "Not only do you save someone at the exact moment someone else is impersonating you murdering someone on the other side of town who can be your alibi, but you save the deputy mayor." She paused to be sure she got that one right. "That's one you don't hear every day."

"This one was a little on the strange side," Faith agreed with a wink to Buffy.

The blonde slayer smiled. "Good things happen to good people and you deserved this. You're a good person."

_You'll watch everything around you burn. _Faith swallowed the sudden anxiety that surfaced in her belly with the thought of those words and who they'd come from. She forced a smile and got into the back of the Council Van and remained quiet for the ride home.

She didn't realize the breath she'd been holding until she stepped through the doors of the common room and she let out a deep sigh. Everyone else filed in and went about normal day to day stuff and Faith just watched them with a mix of worry and more anxiety.

"I'm gonna grab a shower," she told the blonde slayer quietly.

Buffy nodded and watched her go silently. She turned slightly and noticed Kennedy watching her carefully from across the room. She gave the younger girl a smile, knowing she was concerned about Faith and she followed Faith into her bedroom.

She watched as Faith shed her jacket and her shirt and jeans. Faith moved into the bathroom and turned the shower on. Buffy waited until she had undressed fully and stepped into the shower before she shed her own clothes and joined the brunette in the shower.

"Didn't think I asked for company," Faith muttered quietly.

"I don't care," Buffy told her gently as she reached for the shampoo and began lathering the other girl's hair.

Faith allowed Buffy to wash her hair as she scrubbed the jail essence off of her skin. She hated how well she knew it. Her body was turned away from the other girl and she jumped slightly when she felt lips press into her bare shoulder. Buffy's hands suddenly snaked around her waist and the blonde girl pulled her impossibly close.

"Faith, I love you," Buffy whispered into her ear.

That was all it took for Faith to break down. Her tears started to fall and she turned in the blonde's arms and when Buffy pulled her close, she began to sob. Her entire body shook in Buffy's arms as she sobbed with fear and regret and hate and love. There were so many conflicting emotions running through her that she didn't know what or how to feel.

Buffy held the other girl close to her and stroked her hair and her back and did whatever she could to soothe Faith. When her sobs tapered off slightly, Faith pulled back and looked Buffy in the eye. "I'm sorry."

Buffy smiled and shook her head. "It's okay, babe." She reached around the brunette and turned the shower off and grabbed a towel and wrapped Faith in it. She grabbed another for herself and headed for her room to get dressed.

Minutes later she was back in Faith's room sitting on the windowsill as the brunette smoked a cigarette. Buffy just sat and waited for Faith to explain what had gone on.

The slayers were silent for a long stretch of minutes, but Buffy knew Faith would only talk when she was ready.

"I saw my mom in the cemetery Friday night," Faith finally mumbled. She looked up and met Buffy's eyes evenly. "I lied to you."

Buffy didn't care in that moment that Faith had lied, she just wanted to know why. She reached out to grasp the other girl's hand gently, silently urging her to continue.

Faith swallowed hard. "B, my mom is dead."

Buffy's eyes got wide. "What?"

"Yeah," Faith agreed. "That must be what my face looked like when I saw her." She shook her head. "So I tried to hit her, thinking our buddy the First is back, but she grabs my arm just as quick and I know mom was never that quick. Something weird is goin' on."

"What aren't you telling me?" Buffy asked.

Faith looked up and met her eyes. "She told me that if you and I stay together, I'm going to watch everything around me burn."

Buffy blinked several times and leaned back to process what she'd heard. "So you're going to listen to your dead mother that isn't dead but really is?"

Faith shook her head. "It shook me up, but I know it's someone just tryin' to mess with us."

Buffy smiled a little and leaned forward to capture Faith's lips in a gentle kiss. "Faith, I have a theory."

"Oh yeah?" Faith asked quietly, hope shimmering in her eyes.

Buffy nodded. "I think that the Powers need us to be together. I think it's our destiny. We're fated to be together like we are right now. After the fight with the First we were on shaky ground, but it was new, fresh ground and we were able to build off that. The Powers, I think, sent Cordelia back to help us along and get together for real. Now I think that the bad guys have figured out she's here to get us together and they're sending in forces of their own to try to break us up."

"That's a hell of a theory, B," Faith told her once she'd thought about what Buffy told her.

"Makes sense though, right?" Buffy asked.

"It does," Faith agreed.

Buffy leaned forward and cupped Faith's face in both her hands tenderly. "Faith, sweetie, forget every word that woman said. She wasn't your mother. She was someone just trying to get to you. To us. Please don't let her. We've worked so hard to get to this point."

Faith nodded and gave the other girl a smile. "I won't let anyone or anything come between us, B. I promise. I want forever with you."

Buffy grinned and leaned in for a tender kiss. "That's exactly what I needed to hear. And the feeling is entirely mutual."

Faith caught Buffy's eyes and it was in that moment that she realized her relationship with the other slayer was completely different than any relationship they'd had prior. Buffy trusted her and Buffy respected her and wanted her around. Buffy loved her and enjoyed her company and as simple as it sounded, Buffy wanted to be there for her. Her heart suddenly swelled in her chest and her eyes swam with tears.

"I love you so much, B," she told the blonde.

Buffy smiled tenderly and kissed her again. "I love you too, Faith."

Faith stood up slowly and grasped the blonde's hand and pulled her up from her seat. Faith reached down and pulled her own wifebeater up over her head and reached out and pulled Buffy's tank over her head. Buffy got the message and the two of them began undressing each other as they found the other's lips. Hands were suddenly everywhere in a rush of tender touches. Lips explored exposed skin slowly and carefully. The two tumbled into bed where they wrapped around each other and when their eyes locked, they both knew that night was about to change and solidify their relationship forever and they both knew they'd never be the same again.

P

The next morning Faith was sitting on the edge of the roof smoking a cigarette and enjoying her freedom. She heard the door creak open behind her and she turned enough to see Cordelia headed her way.

"What's up, C?" she asked once the other girl was close enough.

Cordelia leaned down and hugged the slayer from behind. "Are you okay?"

Faith turned herself around once the other girl released her and pulled her friend into a proper hug. "Yeah."

Cordelia looked her up and down and then met her eyes. "Are you sure?"

Faith nodded and sat back down. "I'm fine. Swear."

Cordelia smiled. "Good. I wanted to check on you last night but you and Buffy disappeared pretty quick."

"I had to shower," Faith explained. "I hate jail smell."

"Jail smell?" a voice teased from behind Cordelia. Kenned stepped into view from the doorway and smiled at the older slayer. "Jails have smells?"

"Trust me, it's better that you don't know," Faith told her.

Kennedy smiled and pulled Faith into a hug. "Glad you're okay. And free."

"You and me both, Kid," Faith told her.

"You are, right?" Kennedy asked. "Okay?"

"I'll be fine," Faith replied as her two friends took a seat on the swing. She met Cordelia's eyes. "So B told me we're fated. Destined."

"You are," Cordelia replied simply.

"You must be feeling pretty successful," Faith noted with a grin.

Cordelia nodded and smiled. "Today certainly feels different."

"For me too," Faith told her.

Kennedy and Cordelia exchanged a glance and both turned back to Faith. "Oh really?" Kennedy asked.

Faith shrugged. "I will say that today I feel like nothing can ever come between me and B."

"Wow," Cordelia mumbled. "Go me."

"And me," Kennedy added with a smile.

"Yay team 'you two'," Faith told them both flatly. "Glad it had nothing to do with me and B."

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "You were kind of a part of it."

"Puppets on a string?" Faith asked with a smile.

Cordelia shook her head. "Nah."

"Good to know, C," Faith told her.

Cordelia winked at her and gave her a genuine smile, grasping her hand lightly. "You're gonna be just fine, Faith."

The slayer smiled and nodded her head. "Thanks, C."

The three sat on the roof for a while longer and Faith reveled in the fact that she had an amazing girlfriend, and incredible friends. She finally felt like she had a family of her own.

P

A.N. More to come soon…please review and thanks for reading!


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